


Elinor

by Lenaa412



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fantasy, Gen, Magic, Witches, fae
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22576849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenaa412/pseuds/Lenaa412
Summary: In a world where Witches and Fae once lived in harmony with the humans, are not fairy tales. What they don’t know is that there are descendants of the Fae and of the Witches.Elinor is of both.And they know that.Garett and his group had this plan forever, to use the power of the half-Witch, half-Fae descendant and unleash the power stored in a simple medallion forged by the first Witches long ago.Both Fae and Witches have the power to control one of the four elements, but only the half-blood can control all four. Elinor needs to gain control over the power she doesn’t know about yet; before they can turn it into something terrible and bring chaos to the world.





	1. Chapter 1

My day turned from good to the worst in an hour. I didn’t think what had happened was possible that my dad could do something like this, but he proved me wrong. And I am never going to forgive him.

It started when he came home later than usual–about an hour later, and that wasn’t even the part that made me think something was going wrong, but what happened after.

He seemed to be in a rush. He kept knocking things over and down while looking for something, and he appeared absent-minded too. This never happened to him. I admit, he wasn’t the most organised person I knew, but he never acted this way.

Then, when he turned to me, eyes wide, glasses on the top of his head, shirt wrinkled, and said, “Elinor, listen to me.” He put his hands together and stepped one ahead. I was currently on the sofa, listening to some music that sounded from the old player we had and watching my father run up and down in the house. “Listen. Go to your room, and don’t come out unless I come for you, all right?”

“B–”

“Just do it!” He raised his voice, then quieted again. “Please.” Shaking my head, a little, I stood up and stormed into my room. This was the only room in the house if we don’t count the space in the attic, which is not in the condition for someone to live there.

In my room, I had a bed right next to the door, and a desk next to the bed. Opposite the desk was a chest of drawers with a smaller mirror above it. There was a small window on the opposite wall to the door, between the desk and the chest of drawers, which overlooked the streets. It has always been stuck, and you only could move the bottom window if you wanted to open it.

So, my room wasn’t that big, but I was comfortable in it. The walls were white, and the only decoration I had in my room was a picture of my me and my dad on my sixteenth birthday last year. That was the last time I had seen my dad as happy as he was when I was young. He hadn’t smiled or laughed since.

He says it’s nothing, that “it’s just work”, and that I don’t need to be bothered about it, but I am. He comes home tired and overworked and always looks sad. I really want to do something, but I don’t know what. I work too or worked until my workplace needed to shut and left me unemployed. I have been searching for work ever since, but it’s hard in my case.

Schooling is only provided for the rich ones and the people in the upper worker class. My dad and I just fall below it, so I never had any schooling. Everything I know my dad taught me. He never went to school either, he was thought by his father too, and so on. We learn from life. But he did teach me to read and write since my mom taught him as well. She didn’t have any schooling either, she learnt it from her friend who had. My mom died when I was two years old. She was hot in an uprising in the city we live in.

The city. Yes. It is a mixture of both wealthy and poorer people, and most of the times we can live by each other, but when we can’t ... when someone provokes the other, and a fight starts ... it often turns into something that prevents us from going out of the house. We stayed during those times since the day mom died in one. She just stepped out of the house with dad to see what was going on, did nothing but stand in front of the door, half still in the house, and they shot her.

I know this because I begged my dad until he told me the story. I deserved it. I deserved to know what happened to her, he couldn’t keep me in the dark. I was fourteen when he finally told me. And after he did, I didn’t leave my room for two days.

So now, I stepped into my room and walked to the window to look out. I looked to the sides to see if anyone was coming, that’s why he sent me into my room, but there was no one on the streets, except our neighbour opposite, who just left the house.

I struggled for some time to open the window, but when I did, I inhaled the air coming in. I walked to the mirror and went through my messy hair with my com that had teeth missing. I wouldn’t replace it, because it was mom’s. Dad collected a smaller box full of her stuff when we moved into this house and gave it to me saying to keep anything I wanted. There was the comb in it, and a pair of her earrings, the rose ones. Dad said she wore this when they married, and this one was the only one she kept. There were smaller things in there, which I didn’t need or had the place for.

I went through my dark reddish-brown hair with the coms and looked at myself in the mirror. Dad says I have my mother’s eyes, but in the picture, my dad has in his wallet, mom’s eyes are green. Mine are icy blue. I never questioned it, I thought I just saw it wrong. He also says that they had no idea where my hair colour came from since they don’t know anyone in the family with this shade of red hair.

My dad always joked that I was cursed by the Witches because of the colour of my hair and eyes. In the stories that went around about Witches here, they were always painted as having eyes all the shades of blue, and hair all the shades of the darker colours. They weren’t the kind that flew around on brooms at night, though they were thought to have powers of the elements.

And so were the Fae. But that’s a story only those believe who are said to have gone crazy. But I believe in them. I believe in them more as I believe in Witches. Fae are portrayed in the stories as tall and charming-looking creatures with pointed ears and elongated canines. They are said to have enhanced physical strength, they are fast and strong. Some likely have the power of the elements as the Witches do, but these are just stories the people created when they were bored. No one has ever reported on seeing a Witch or Fae and those who claimed that they have, have been considered crazy and were cast out.

So, I know my dad was just trying to scare me with saying that I look like a Witch. There are other people with red hair and blue eyes, and they are not Witches, as far as we know.

Since I was sentenced to be in my room until my dad says otherwise, I walked over to my bed, pulled the box filled with my favourite books my dad got me throughout the years, grabbed the first one and started reading it.

I was just half-way through it when it started to get darker and darker outside, and I couldn’t see the words anymore. I put the book down upside-down, opened where I was, and stood up to light the lamp on the desk. I looked to the side, out the window then sat back onto my bed.

But I couldn’t forget something I thought I saw.

I put the book down again and went to the window. I pulled the white lacy curtain just enough, so I can see outside, and I didn’t like what I saw.

Here are a few people who would wander to this part of the city, especially someone who has a car. The only people who had one were the upper-class people, and I bet they wouldn’t come here even if they were offered all the wealth in the world. Not that they’d need it ...

No. A black car–at least it seemed black in the dim light that was left of the sun–rolled into the street and slowly moved between the houses. Slowly because they were cautious or slowly because they were looking for something, I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. But I couldn’t step away from the window just yet. I was too curious why this car had rolled in our street.

I followed it as it made its way through the street, carefully driving among the houses, only to then stop just after my house and before the next one. I went to the other side of the window so I can see it clearer.

I frowned. _Why did it stop? And why did it stop there?_

Two men got out of the car, closing the doors quietly. They looked around, and I stepped back a step from my window. The curtain moved when I let it go, but the window was still open, so even if they saw, they wouldn’t think that someone was watching them. At least that’s what I hoped.

When they finished looking around, one of them–the one that was on the far side of the car to me–went to the back of the car and tapped on it twice. If I hadn’t have watched them, I wouldn’t have known it was a tap on a car’s door, because it was faint, and it sounded like someone stepping on a stone, walking on the street.

From the back of the car, two more men got out. At this point, fear started to build up in me. _Why were four men, with a car here, at one of the lower-middle-class workers’ homes?_ I asked myself. They gathered at the back of the car, and after a minute of what seemed like a quiet discussion about something, they started walking towards one of the houses.

At my house.

I let go of the curtain and stepped to the door. My hand was on the doorknob, but then I remembered that my dad told me to stay here until he comes. _Would he have arranged a meeting with them? Could they be burglars? Then they wouldn’t have had a car, and they would have waited until dark, not dusk._

With my hand on the doorknob and my heart racing in my throat, I opened the door slightly only to hear my dad talk.

We did not have a telephone, again, that was a privilege the wealthier had, and my dad does not talk to himself. One option remained.

He did have a meeting with these guys.

 _But why?_ I asked myself. _These men didn’t look friendly at all. Might my dad be in trouble?_

I wanted to go out of my room, but if I did, they would see me. That’s not something I can avoid, and I didn’t know how that would be affecting on ... anything. My dad surely had a reason to order me into my room. I trusted him.

Before I closed the door, I wanted to hear what they were saying. I moved closer to the door that was opened only for me to hear them, but they couldn’t see me.

“... promised. You know I am not someone you can toy with Jullian,” one of them said to my dad.

“I didn’t promise anything, you blackmailed me,” my dad said in response.

“Same thing. Where is she?” The same person asked.

“Told you already. She is not here. She wasn’t here all day. She left this morning saying nothing. She does that lately,” my dad said. I wondered if he was talking about me. But if yes, then why were these men looking for _me_?

“Then you don’t mind if we don’t believe you and have a look around, do you?”

“Actually, I do mind. You have no right to just barge in here and demand nonsense and go through my house!” He raised his voice.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” the stranger said, and I heard footsteps.

It won’t take them too long to find me. Our house was small, too small. I-could-feel-them-breathing-down-my-neck-from-over-there small. I stepped over to the desk and turned the light off. I looked around quickly. I didn’t fit under the bed, it was too low. They would spot me right away if I hid under the desk, even in this dark. My only chance of escaping was the window, but I can’t fit through it because I could only open it two fists’ height.

I was stuck in here.

And the door opened.

Standing in front of the window, chest moving up and down heavily, I faced the man who I recognised as the one who knocked on the car’s door, their leader, who was now standing in my room, looking at me, grinning.

“Hey, Jullian? What were you lying about her not being here?” He asked as he stepped towards me. He reached for my arm, but I pulled away, and stepping past him, I leapt for the door, but it was blocked by another one of them. “Make this easy for us please, and don’t fight. It would only harm you,” the leader whispered in my ear, and disgust shivered through me as he pushed me out of my room after the other man stepped aside, and pushed me into the living room, where my dad was standing in the kitchen, cornered by the other two.

“Dad!” I leapt towards him, but I was yanked back by my clothes by the leader.

“Say goodbye from there, or say nothing at all,” he said to my dad, who just sighed, and looked at me.

“Elinor ...” He stepped forward, but one of the two who was guarding him pushed him back. I was yanked back again when I tried to take a step forward at the same time.

“Time’s up. Good-bye, Jullian,” the leader said, and led me out of the house, now holding me by my arm and not by my clothes.

He led me to the back of the car, yanking on my arm when I kept turning back, trying to break free. “Stop it!” He pulled me to the back of the car and my head almost met with the door as he was opening it. He pushed me inside, and I fell.

The two men that got out of the back of the car, in the beginning, got in too, scooped me up and sat me down on the seat on the side. They took the two chairs opposite me. The two others got into the front of the car.

I heard banging on the side of the car from outside then I heard my father’s voice. “Just let her go. Let’s talk ab–”

“There _is_ nothing to talk about. We made a deal, and you didn’t deliver. Good-bye,” the leader said and drove away with the tires screeching.


	2. Chapter 2

Seemingly hours later, we finally stopped. I have tried to get out of the car, not caring if it was moving or jot or if I had to jump or not. Even death would have been better than the place they were taking me to. But when I stood from my seat to open the door, both the men jumped up, and pushed me back down to my seat.

“What’s going to back there?” The leader asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Careful, whatever you’re doing. You know we can’t hurt her.” One out of the two men pulled me up and sat me back to my seat. He sat down next to me, stretching out his legs, completely blocking my way to the back door.

 _This is just great._ I thought. Fear and panic flooded me.

When we arrived at wherever the one sitting opposite us stood up and opened the door while the other grabbed me by my arm and pulled me out of the car.

I thought; _This is it. Now I have the chance to escape._ But I was wrong. When my feet touched the ground, I pulled on his grip and freed myself, I ran. But I could only go around the car before he reached after me and missed, but I stopped when I saw where I was.

About a five-metre tall stone wall was surrounding us. I stopped, and the feeling of accepting my fate filled my brain, but I didn’t give in. I turned around and ducked away just when one of them reached after me.

“Get her!” He shouted. _Oh, so they_ can _speak._ I thought since so far, I only heard the leader speak.

I turned to run, but they were behind me, and I only know this because while one held me by my arms from behind me, the other put a blindfold on me. I shook my head to make it harder for them, but they still managed to take my vision away. Then, the one who held me by my arms forced my hands behind my back and tied them strong. I felt weak, I felt powerless, I felt defeated.

They pushed me forward, then led me somewhere, probably inside, since I didn’t feel the slight wind on my skin anymore. We descended a few staircases, and every time I almost fell, but they pulled me up. Then they pushed me in somewhere, where I landed on something soft. A carpet. I stood up just when they came too and untied my hands and removed the blindfold.

I was in a dimly lit room, with only a bed, a nightstand with light and chair in there. The walls looked dirty-grey, but I wasn’t sure if it was just from the lighting or not. The man who pushed me in left with the metal door’s banging echoing. I ran to the door and hit it with my fists and screamed for help until my hands and throat hurt.

When I couldn’t do it anymore, I slid down along the door, and put my forehead against it. I was still hitting the door lightly with my hand, but I knew it was of no use. I sat down, leaned against the door, and looked around. There was no window anywhere, but considering that we took about three stairs, it didn’t surprise me. I was probably underground.

***

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to being pushed. By the door. Against which I was still sitting. I stood right up and rubbed my eyes.

“What are you doing?” He asked it was the leader from before. I wanted to step past him because the door was open wide enough, but he stepped to the side and blocked my way. I scoffed but gave up on trying to escape. He held a tray of food which he now put down on the ground and left, backing out of the room. I heard this time the click of a lock, and I started hitting the door again.

“Please, just ... let me o-o-ou-u-ut!” I screamed. “Pleeease!” But no one answered. I couldn’t hear anything past the door, not rustling, nothing indicating if anyone was standing there or not. “Argh!” I shouted and kicked the door as if it would help at all. But it just made my foot hurt. I looked at the tray he put on the floor and walked past it and sat on the chair against the wall.

There was no way I’m eating or drinking whatever they give me, it might be drugged or worse, poisoned. And there was no way I’m sleeping on that mattress either. Who knows who have slept on it or what have been on it. Ugh! No way!

I just sat up on the chair and pulled my legs up. I put my chin on my knees and just ... started in front of me wondering how I ended up here.

The leader said that he and my dad made a deal, and my dad “didn’t deliver”. What did he mean by that? Did he and my dad make a deal about something in exchange for me? But ... why? Why do they think I am of value? Is this some sort of punishment for my dad then? That I’m held captive until he does what they want? And will he? Do what they want just to get me back?

Of course, he will, that’s not a question. That’s why they had to come and get me, that’s why my dad didn’t give me to them before, because he didn’t agree to their terms. He did say they blackmailed him instead of just making a deal as the leader had claimed. And no, the two is _not_ the same!


	3. Chapter 3

I woke to falling. When I realised that I was on the floor, and not actually falling into an endless black pit, that I only fell off the chair I was sitting on, I sighed in relief.

I looked towards the door and noted that the tray was gone, and another replaced it. I knew it was a different one because the contents on it were different, and now it had a piece of paper folded into a triangle standing on it.

I walked over there and picked up the paper. _“Eat up!”_ That’s all it said. I turned it if I held a hidden message, but no. Those two words were the only words I made out in the dim light. I let the paper fall, and I picked the tray up. It had a bottle of water on it, and a sandwich in a box to keep it fresh, but I didn’t trust it. If they didn’t bring me sealed food and water, I refused to touch it, let alone eat it.

When I put the tray back down, my stomach grumbled. “Traitor,” I said and looked back at the plate. _Maybe if I drink that bottle of water ..._ I picked it up and walked over to the light with it. I checked the seal and was surprised when I saw that it wasn’t broken.

I decided to drink it, but not all yet. I still didn’t want to touch the food, and I didn’t. I put the water down on the nightstand, and as I let the bottle go, I had an idea.

I thought if the next time someone comes in, I could just hide behind the door, and hit them with the lamp. They would be too distracted by the darkness so I would have an advantage. I reached for the lamp to lift it up, and when I tried, it didn’t budge. I pulled harder, but it didn’t move. I didn’t understand. I went to the chair and lifted that up, but it didn’t move either.

“What’s going on?” I asked, looking around, confused. _Why wouldn’t anything budge?_ Then I heard keys rattle in the lock, then the lock clicked, and a man stepped in. A man I’ve never seen before stepped in.

He was more built up, more muscular than the others, but about the same height. He wore simple clothes: a dark grey shirt and black trousers. He closed the door behind him, and fear flooded my mind once again.

“Who are you?” I asked, trying to act as not full of fear as I could possibly act.

He laughed. “Well ... I am your host.” He held his arm out beside him and looked around.

I did too. “Well, you’re doing a fantastic job so far,” I said, crossing my arms.

He took a step closer. “Well, this is what you’ll get. Everything depends on your behaviour, girl. So, I’d be careful what I say, and how I act.”

“Or what? What could _possibly_ be worse than this? Being kidnapped and held in a ... hole?” I asked, showing my hands around then throwing them in the air and let them fall to my side.

I instantly wished I wouldn’t have said that.

He stepped before me, but I was so frightened by his sudden change of expression that I took steps back until I bumped into the wall. _Great. I’m cornered. I had to open my big mouth._ He stepped before me, just inches separating his body from touching mine. He leaned closer to my face and said quietly, “If you want your life to be worse than this, you’ll get it. You’ll get one chance, _one_! As I said, I’d watch what I say to whom, and how.” He didn’t move for a couple of seconds, and all I could do was breathe. My mind went blank, and I didn’t even want to think about how he could make things worse.

When he stepped away, I remained against the wall, my arms bent in front of me in a defensive position. “Good. I will hate to be you if you anger me. But I’m glad we understand each other.” He turned around and walked to the door. “Eat up. You’ll need your strength,” he said and left the room.

I dropped on the floor, unable to stand any longer. His vibe ... It was so ... intimidating, that it froze the blood in my veins. And the tone he used, the way he spoke to me ... I was shaking inside.

I curled up where I was, not wanting to move from there. I did _not_ want to find out what he could do to me. But the thing is, ‘watching what I say to whom and how’ was a wide range of things, I might as well just say nothing. But then what if they ask me a question I’m supposed to answer? And if they don’t like my tone and report it to him? I didn’t even want to go there, not even in my thought.

***

When I managed to calm down enough to fall asleep, I kept waking up from my dreams-nightmares of the pictures, my mind showed me what they could do to me. I didn’t even want to recall the images. I got shivers just thinking of them.

I reached for the bottle of water and drank a little. I looked over at the tray of food and debated long whether to go there, pick it up and eat it, or leave it there. Finally, my stomach decided for me when it grumbled so loudly, my whole self, shook in it.

So, I stood up and pulled the tray back to where I was, back under the light. I picked the box with the sandwich in it up and tore it apart. I wanted to see what was in it. But there was nothing special, just cheese. I brought it closer to my face and smelled it. It didn’t smell bad, it smelled fine.

I thought, what could be worse than eating it and finding out that it was indeed drugged. I did expect it, and I was as prepared for it as I could be. At this point now, I didn’t think it was poisoned or drugged with something that would cause death because then that man wouldn’t have come in here to give that talk, and if they wanted to kill me, they would have done that in the house. They wouldn’t have gone through the process of taking me.

I finished the food in a minute, and though it didn’t reduce my hunger much, at least I had something in my stomach now. I pushed the tray back to where it was and looked at the bed. _Why would they bother to give me a room with a bed then do something with it? It didn’t make sense._ So, I stood up and walked over to it. I tapped through the surface of it, looking for any sharp things, and when there were none, I lay on top of the blanket and stared at the ceiling until I fell asleep.

***

“Hey! Get up! Come on!” I heard someone shouting, then pulling me off the bed. I fell to the ground, and he pulled me up. “Come. On. Already.” He pulled me out the door by my arm, while I was still rubbing my eyes, trying to process what just happened and where I was.

When we stepped out of the room, I needed to close my eyes because the difference in the light in the room and out here on the corridor was too much for me, especially now when I just woke up.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Shut up!” He yanked on my arm, pulling me forward. We were practically running, but I couldn’t see where, because the light just got brighter as we walked on. We didn’t take any stairs, so I assumed we stayed at the same level.

When we finally stopped, he pushed me into a room full of ... clothes. “Change into this,” he said and threw me a stack of clothes and left. I didn’t hear him walk away, so I assumed he stayed in front of the door.

The clothes were simple, just a white shirt, black trousers, and an apron, the one you only tie around your waist and reaches to your shin. I changed as quickly as I could, and I put my clothes on the shelf next to me. I decided to have a quick look around, to see if there is anything I could use for ... anything. To escape. But there was nothing. Just clothes and wooden shelves. Not even a broken piece of wood laying around.

“You ready?” He knocked on the door.

I walked over there and opened it. “Yes.”

“Then come on.” He grabbed my arm again and pulled me down a narrower corridor. “They assigned me to take you to the kitchen. He said you’ll be useful there.”

“‘He’ who?” He didn’t answer, and he didn’t need to because then I realised. The man who came into my room yesterday. “In the kitchens?” I asked.

“Shut your mouth. You’re in no position to ask questions. In here.” He let my arm go and showed me a door. “They will explain everything else,” he said, and he just stood there. I stepped through the door, and steam hit me.

“There you are. The last one. In the line.” Someone pushed me gentler than the other men did and directed me into the line already formed along the two sides of the counter. I looked around and saw a normal, but big kitchen, with about twenty of us plus the chef in there. On the other side of the counter stood the boys, ten of them, and in front of me stood nine more girls. Some of them turned to me when I joined the line standing at the end of it. Some whispered something to the other two. But I could have cared less.

I picked up the hat the girl in front of me looked at, and she mouthed ‘put it on’ with a smile. She seemed nice.

We were quiet while the chef explained the rules and sorted us into groups of twos to work. Since I came in last, the girl in front of me and I had the privilege of washing the dishes. We turned to walk over to the sink, not saying a word until we got there, and the water started running.

“I’m Holla,” she said quietly, leaning in towards me.

“Elinor,” I said, and she nodded smiling.

“Are you new here?” She asked as we started washing the dirty dishes.

“Is it so obvious?”

“A little. But don’t worry, if you do what they say, nothing will happen to you,” she said, but as I looked to the side, I saw something in her eyes. I didn’t want to ask about it since we didn’t know each other, so I kept quiet and washed the dishes.

When we were done for now and were drying the washed dishes and pots with towels, I looked around to the others. They were all working at their assigned stations, either chopping something, or monitoring the cooking something, or else. The chef was busy cooking something now.

One of the boys who were the closest to me was having a challenging time chopping up something. It looked like as though he was tired of it that unable. He scratched his head on the side, and when his hat shifted up from his head a little, I almost dropped the plate I was holding, because of what I saw.

The boy had pointed ears.

I looked over to Holla, but she just smiled at me and put her finger in front of her mouth, meaning to be quiet, and tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing her pointed ears too, then moving her hair back, hiding it again.

“You too?” I asked as quiet as I could.

She nodded and showed four of her fingers up and looked around, meaning there were four Fae descendants here. Then she leaned closer. “That’s why we’re here.”

“And the others?” I asked, but she just shrugged and went back to work.

Fae. They were Fae. Magical creatures. Here. Living. I was too amazed to think of anything. My mind went blank except for the amazement of sitting in it for a while.

***

We worked until lunchtime when we got a short break to eat. I planned to ask Holla about her being Fae, so I sat down next to her at the long table. On her other side sat the other Fae boy.

“Tell me all about you.” We could talk now, everyone was. “I mean, please?” I flashed a smile.

“There isn’t much to tell.” She played with her food. “My mom and dad were killed by the men who dragged me here, and now I’m here.” She shrugged. “That’s all of our stories. They want something from us, but we don’t know what.”

“Or when,” the boy cut in. “I’m Millard,” he said.

“Elinor.” I smiled softly. “But I meant ... you’re Fae. I only heard about your kind in stories.”

The boy chuckled. “Yes, well, I know for a fact that there aren’t that many of us left out there, and if it continued like this – them going around killing them – then there won’t be much more left.”

“Is it true you have ...” I leaned closer. “... magic?”

Holla shook her head. “I don’t. But my dad had. He was of the Wind.”

“I do,” Millard said. He cupped his hands in front of him under the table, and I saw a tiny little fire dance on his palm. Then he quickly extinguished it because the others looked his way. He went back to eat his food, but a few moments later, he turned to us again. “Please don’t tell them. So far they hadn’t realised it.” I saw fear in his eyes, and it made me nod. Holla nodded too.

“Who are the other two?” I asked, referring to her saying there were four Fae here.

She leaned closer. “Do you see the two girls at the end of the table? The blonde ones.” I did see them. They were busy looking around to the others, fearfully. “They came just four days ago,” she added. “They were beaten up. Oh, my ... You should have seen then when they stepped in the kitchen. If the chef didn’t give them something, I think they would look worse now than they did before.”

“It was a healing powered cream,” Millard cut in. “We used it too on cuts and bruises and battle scars.”

“‘Battle scars’?” I asked back.

“Figuratively speaking,” he added.

“All right. Time’s up! Back to work.” The chef came in.

“Promise me to tell me more,” I asked, practically begging them for another conversation which I didn’t know I missed this much.

Millard smiled. “Of course.” Holla put her hand on mine and gave it a light squeeze.

“You two!” The chef pointed at us. “Start clearing the table then wash up. When you’re done, you can start on the surfaces. I want to see my reflection,” he said and turned to walk away.

Holla went to start on the other end of the table, and with ten-ten plates stacked on top of each other, balancing in our arms, we carried them to the sink and started washing them.

“What about the other two girls. Do you know anything about them?” I asked quietly.

“No.” She waited until one of the boys had passed us, then continued. “We don’t really get to talk much, I only talked to Millard because he, Rob and I were sorted into the same group before the girls arrived.” She explained. “I don’t know anyone else just Rob. He is the one with the light red hair with Millard,” she said, not looking up, but I turned to the side and searched for Rob.

Currently, he was carrying a pot to where the chef was, and he seemed to have approved of whatever was in there. Rob left it where he told him to leave it and went back to his place to continue his work.

“How do you know the girls were Fae if you haven’t talked to them?” I asked.

“I felt it. We sense other Fae’s presence,” she said then stopped and turned to me. “What are _you_?” She asked.

“What do you mean? I’m nothing. I’m human.”

“No, you’re not.” She turned back to work. “All the others are. They all have the same smell, but you have a different one. I can’t ... I can’t quite put my finger on it, I never came across your smell in my life.”

“Is it true you live for hundreds of years?” I asked quietly, a bit embarrassed to ask.

“Some do. But not nowadays. Since they started to hunt down our kind ...,” she said sadly. “Before you ask, no, I’m only thirty,” she said. My mouth fell open, but I closed right away before she could notice it. _Thirty._ She didn’t look thirty. She didn’t look more than nineteen.

I said nothing in response, mainly because I didn’t know what would be appropriate to say, or even which one of my hundred thousand thoughts to speak first. So, we worked until dinnertime, then after we washed up and cleaned every surface again, we could go. Holla and I were the last ones to leave the kitchen.

When we stepped out, we both went to the room full of clothes and changed back to our regular clothes. When we stepped out of there, two men were standing by the door. One of them was the man who brought me here in the morning, and the other I have never seen.

Holla lifter her hand by her side to say goodbye and left to the opposite way that we were going. I paid attention to the route to my room this time. We took two right turns first, then a left one and the second left again. Then we went through a double door with four men standing by it, two on either side. This was the corridor of my room. And my room was the sixth door to the left.

I was surprised that I wasn’t pushed or pulled or yanked or shouted at during the walk here. He did, however, growl at me a few times when I might have slowed down, but then I picked up the pace, and he said nothing.

When I stepped into my room, the man from last night was sitting in the chair. I stopped at. The door and waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, I asked, “The kitchens?”

“Why?” He leaned forward and leaned on his knees.

I shrugged. “That is your idea of punishment? Do work in the kitchens?” There was no challenging in my tone, just pure curiousness.

“No. This is not a punishment. It’s simply me getting a use of you,” he said and leaned back in the chair again, crossing his arms.

“Why am I here?”

“Because you’re important,” he said quietly.

“Why take me away from my dad and bring me here?”

“Because your ‘dad’ was never supposed to have you in the first place,” he said, standing up. _No, he can’t leave now. Not after dropping a kind of information like this._

“What do you mean?” I stepped after him but stopped when he turned around suddenly.

“I had enough of your questions for today,” he said, holding up a finger, meaning to be careful what I say. I guessed it depended on this moment whether I still had that chance he talked about, so I said nothing. “Good girl.” He grinned and left the room.

“Argh!” I kicked in the air. _He can’t just drop something like this then leave! I deserved answers, but if I push for them, I might be the one getting burnt ..._


	4. Chapter 4

The next day went down the same. That man who woke me up yesterday, woke me up today too, the same way he did yesterday. He pulled me out of bed and led me to the room full of clothes to change, then led me into the kitchen. There, this time, I wasn’t the last one to come, a few people weren’t there yet.

I was made to stand in the line again, and I figured that this line formed the way people came. I was not the fifth in the girls’ line, and from the boys, only one was missing. But when all the girls finally arrived, and the chef started talking again, beginning with the rules again, I realised then that the missing boy was not coming, or else he wouldn’t have started. The boy missing wasn’t Millard or Rob, they were the third and the seventh in line.

Today the groups of two were different, and I realised that he just takes two people from the line that are after each other and puts them together. I was now with one of the blonde girls, and they came after me. We were sorted to chop the vegetables and put them in the pots and cook them.

“Hi.” I leaned closer to her after the chef was out of the range. She looked at me, then back to the vegetables. “I’m Elinor,” I added quietly. She glanced at me again and nodded slightly. The chef was walking this way again, but when he was gone, she nudged my hand, and I looked up at her.

“Sollyn.” She nodded towards where her sister was with one of the other girls washing the dishes. “My sister, Dielle. I heard you guys talk about us yesterday.”

I looked at her, but then back because the chef was looking our way. When he wasn’t anymore, I said, “Sorry. Holla and Millard just told me you two were Fae too.”

“We are.” She nodded.

“Is that why you two are here, too?” A nod.

“You smell funny,” she said grimacing.

I pointed to the pot on the fire with my knife. “It might be that.” The corner of her mouth turned upwards, a smile. She didn’t need to say, but I knew what she was talking about. Holla told me the same yesterday. I have no idea what they meant ... I never thought of me or felt that I was any different. I knew I wasn’t Fae, I didn’t have the features, the pointy ears, and the elongated canines; and I couldn’t have been a Witch because I had no powers.

The rest of the day went quietly, Sollyn and I didn’t talk until we had our first break. I invited Sollyn and Dielle over to Holla, Millard and me. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, and they didn’t mind either. They did have a small conversation about nothing, and the atmosphere wasn’t bad either.

The same happened during the second break, but then I had a thought.

“Guys,” I said quietly. “It’s all fine that we are working here, in the kitchen, but who is all this food for? Who lives here?”

Holla shrugged. “I’ve never seen anyone just that man that chaperones me all day.”

“Same.” Millard agreed, and the girls nodded too.

“I ....,” I started. “I did see someone else.”

“Who?”

“He introduced himself as ‘my host’,” I said, looking around. I shrugged. “Whoever he is, he is not nice. My blood freezes from the way he talks, heck, even from the way he looks at me,” I said, not raising my voice above a loud whisper. They looked at each other, not knowing more than they said they did.

Today we were let go early, we only needed to clean up after ourselves after dinner. I didn’t complain, not even in my thoughts, just followed Millard and the girls as they went out of the kitchen. Millard left in another door, I assumed boys and girls had different rooms to change in.

“Hey,” Holla called us to her. She pulled something from her pocket under her apron. It was a tart she must have slipped when no one was watching. “Here,” she broke it in half, and in half again, dividing it into four pieces, and gave them to us. Looking around, behind our backs for the others, we made the tart disappear as quickly as it appeared.

Smiling at each other, we parted, and I noted that the three other girls were heading the same way, opposite to mine.

***

All week it was the same, being pulled out of bed, pulled to work then work, break, work, break, work, clean up and leave, then start the next morning again. By the sixth day, I woke up when he opened my door, standing, by the time he made it through the room.

“No work today. You stink,” he said and threw me a stack of similar clothes I was wearing. A white shirt, brown trousers. There were undergarments folded in the clothes too. “Come on,” he said and walked out of the room.

This time he turned left not right. He went down the corridor, past four more doors, then through a same-looking door as there was on the other side. I wondered what this place was. Maybe a dungeon. He made a right turn, then two lefts, and he pointed to a door.

“You get thirty minutes then you come right back. Don’t make me go in there to get you.” It sounded more of a threat than something he feared to do. I just nodded and stepped through the door.

Steam was filling the whole open area, only columns and half walls were dividing it. There was an empty space in the back and looking down onto the floor I made my way through the hall. I think this was the quickest bath I have ever had. I washed my hair too as fast as I could, hoping that won’t make my time much longer. I quickly dressed in the clothes he gave me and put my own boots back on. I tried to dry my hair, or at least make it less wet, then left the hall. Before I left the hall, a woman asked for my dirty clothes and put it in a bag.

“What’s your name?” She asked, smiling softly.

“Elinor,” I said, and I swear something lit up in her eyes. But she said nothing, just nodded, and motioned towards the door.

“Finally,” he murmured when I stepped out. “Come,” he said and took me back to my room.

“What am I to do here?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air and letting them fall back to my side.

“Whatever you want.” I saw him smile wickedly in the dim light. He stayed for a few seconds after he said that, but when he left, he closed the door. I waited for the lock to click, but it didn’t. I stood there for a few more moments, just in case, then when I knew for sure that he didn’t lock it, I stepped to it. I put my hands on the handle and opened the door.

Squeaking it opened.

I opened it only so I can see outside, and when I saw no one, I put my head out to have a better view.

No one was there.

I stepped back in but left the door open. I wondered if this was just a test or something, or he was just careless. I wondered who would get punished for I escaped. Me or him. But I didn’t want to risk it, so I closed the door and went to my bed. Just when I sat down on it, I heard the lock click, then two bangs on the door.

I knew it was a test. He was there all along, probably hiding somewhere I couldn’t see from standing on the doorway.

I cursed myself why I hadn’t escaped when I had the chance just now. Now I’ll be stuck in here for who knows how long. But then again, who knows what would have happened if I did. I was sure to be caught and brought back, and then I would have blown my chance for sure. I’m sure as hell I don’t want to find out what would happen after that ...

I laid down on my bed and tried to quiet my mind, but it was racing with thoughts of this. I knew now that he was hiding somewhere, probably waiting for me to step out and try to escape. But if I did, he would have brought me back and then ...

I turned to my back and faced the ceiling.

***

I was woken up by the door opening, but no one came in. I leaned on my elbows and looked at the door, but still, no one came in. I stood up and walked there, looking at the floor if the person might just have put something down, but there was nothing. And even if they would have, they would have closed the door right after.

I opened the door wider and looked out.

No one.

I took a half step out and looked around again.

Even if I walked down the corridor now, I wouldn’t know where to go. There were only two places I knew, the kitchen and the bathing hall, and nothing after them either. I didn’t think I would have a free pass of exploring the area and finding the way out. I knew that I needed to go upstairs two or three times to be on the ground level, but for that, I needed to find a set of stairs first.

I took a deep breath and stepped out.

I wondered who opened the door and left. Again.

I stepped ahead, pushing the door wider behind me. When it contacted the wall, it let out a faint bang, and I thought someone would hear it and come. But no one did.

I decided to go right, the way to the kitchens. To get there, I needed to take a right going through the double door, then the second right. Then two lefts and I was in the rooms with the clothes. I knew that there was no other exit from that room and that there was another door through the kitchens which probably led to the boys’ room, and of course, there was the way Holla and the other girls went.

I came to the corridor on which I needed to take the second right, but I stopped in front of the first one. I shook my head, thinking that if I get caught now, I will get into big trouble. Inhaling, I stepped through the already open door, but it was always open when we passed it, so I didn’t find that strange.

There were no doors on the sides of the corridor, but there was a choice ahead of me at the end of it.

Left or ahead.

To the left, I didn’t see what was because it was too dimly lit, but ahead I saw a case of stairs. I looked behind me then stepped forward, questioning my sanity about this reckless mission of mine.

I slowly ascended the stairs looking behind me just as much as I looked ahead to scan if there was someone there. I heard footsteps, and I backed down on the stairs, but it turned out that the sound of the steps was coming not from ahead but from behind, because I was grabbed by my shirt, and yanked back. I pulled my arms up in front of my face for defence.

“And what do you think you’re doing exactly?” He asked, curiosity and anger and confusion and disappointment sitting on his face. “Get moving.” He pushed me forward and let my shirt go. “No. That way.” He pointed right, towards the other choice.

“But my ro–”

“That way!” He raised his voice, and I looked that way again. Gulping, fearing of what it might hide, I stepped ahead and walked close to the wall.

I turned back, but he just pointed forward and pushed me, but not hard. Just a stronger nudge, to remind me to go ahead.

“Where are you–”

“Shut up,” he said and caught up to next to me, then stopped in front of me, blocking the way for me to continue. Since I didn’t know what to do now, I just stopped too and took a step backwards. We stayed right in-between two lights on the wall, so we were in darkness.

From the moment I saw him first just now, I realised he was familiar, but I didn’t know where I might have seen him, and why. He didn’t look like the person who I would just find walking down the streets, and if yes, I would have surely remembered him because he would really stick out from the usual crowd that walled on the streets I knew.

“Wha–”

“Enough with the questions. I’m talking,” he said, and I kept my mouth shut. “I was the one who opened the door, thinking you would go on a way you know,” he said.

Suddenly I realised where I know him from. He was the one who sat next to the leader while they brought me here. He was the only one who hasn’t done anything to me, didn’t hold me down, or threaten me, or anything.

“Why? What do you want?” I took a step back, but he grabbed my arm and pulled back into the dark.

“I am not with them. I am ....,” he started.

“A spy?”

“Something like that.”

“Why are you telling _me_ this?”

Because they are planning something big, something involving you. I don’t know anything about it, they won’t tell us, but I’m working on it,” he said. He took a half step forward and continued quieter. “I was sent to get you out, but I need time. I can’t just walk you out of here, I either need a cover-up or a distraction, or a _very_ good reason to take you out of here. It would be impossible for you to get out alone,” he said, pointing behind me, referring to what I just did.

I nodded, but something caught my attention. “You said you were sent. What did you mean by that?”

“What it means. I was sent.”

“Sent by who?”

“Your parents.”

“My dad?” I asked, confused. He was part of the group that took me from him, even though he wasn’t really with them, how would my dad have known?

“No.” He looked behind me, stepping closer, so I was against the wall, and he practically against me, but assuming from his expression I saw but barely, I guessed someone had just passed the corridor, and he wanted to make us not seen. That’s why he chose this part of the corridor to stop. “But we need to go now,” he said and grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the other end of the corridor that we came from.

I wanted to ask or say so many things like, why we were going this way, or where we were going because I didn’t think it magically curved back to the corridor where my room was, or who he was, and how he knew me, or what he meant by not my dad sent him, then who else? So many questions but none escaped my mouth. I just walked after him, trying to keep up with him, he paced so fast.

“You know who I am, but I don’t know who you are,” I said, as we halted at a crossing and he looked around and continued.

“Marell,” he said. “But be quiet now.” He looked around again, then we took a sharp left ...

... and came across the leader.

My mind went blank in a split second and fear, filled it, and my heart was racing in my throat. _We were caught. We’re doomed. I’m in enormous trouble._

“Well ... What’s this?” He asked, leaning against the wall, crossed armed.

“She wondered out. Whoever took her back to her room didn’t lock the damn door. I was taking her back.” Marell explained to him.

“You choose the long way then.”

“This was quicker from where I found her.”

“I’ll take it from here,” he said and grabbed my other arm, gentler than he did before. Marell keeping up the obedient follower let me go and turned around and walked away. I looked after him, hoping he’ll come back, but he didn’t. “Come now.” He let my arm go, and put his hand on my back, nudging me forward.

We walked back to my room, on the long way. We ended up by the kitchen’s corridor, but farther down a bit. When he nudged me into my room, he closed the door behind him.

“Well, I hope you had a good little adventure.” He stepped to the chair and sat down. “What am I going to do with you?” He asked, but I knew he didn’t expect an answer from me. He stood up and walked to the door, then stopped, showing his back to me. After a few terrifyingly long seconds, he turned around and pointed at me. “I’ll tell him.”

“No!” I shouted while I stepped forward, and my arm shot out towards him in case of stopping him from leaving. Then I pulled my hand back and looked down.

“Oh? Why not?” He crossed his arms. I kept quiet not just because I didn’t know what to say, but I was too afraid now of ... everything.

Of getting into trouble, though I supposed, I was already in it. Of Marell telling him and that he will do something, or if he won’t tell him, however, the leader will still do something himself, and of Marell too. I didn’t want him to get into trouble not just because then I won’t get a chance of getting out, maybe never, but because I knew what he was risking. He was risking his lift to plan an escape for me, with being here.

“I might just tell him _just_ because you don’t want me to.” He pointed at me, and I felt a weight fall on my chest.

“No. Please,” I said quietly. He didn’t answer, he just left and closed and locked the door behind him. I knew it would be useless to go and bang on the door and beg him, he won’t listen anyway, and I would just look more pathetic. So, I just went and sat on the chair wondering what he will do now.

***

Hours later he still didn’t come. I guessed he was just messing with me, trying to scare me. Maybe he was just bored, and he didn’t plan anything, he just wanted to mess with me. So, I went over to my bed and fell asleep in a longer time than I expected.

When I woke up – again, to the door opening – I stood right up because I thought it was morning, and time to work. I was right, but the person who stepped in wasn’t the same as before it was Marell.

“Come on.” He nodded and stepped outside. I rubbed my eyes and went through my hair with my fingers.

“Where is the other guy?”

“I might have told superior that he left the door open and you almost got out,” he said.

“You lied?”

“No. Well, partially, which doesn’t make it a whole lie. So, they sorted me with you.”

I nodded. “Good.”

“But you do know that I can’t act differently towards you than the others do?” He turned to me.

“I figured. You have to keep the act up.” I shrugged.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I get it. I would do the same in your position. But ...”

“But what?”

“I want to know why I’m here.”

“I will tell you,” he said. “In time.”

“When will that be?” I asked.

“Later. Oh, next week you are no longer in the kitchens.”

“What? Why?”

“They always rotate the groups. Next week until further notice your group would be doing the laundry. Don’t worry, you and your little friends will still be together.”

“How–”

“I have my ways. But shhh,” he said, and grabbed my arm, leading me as the way he was supposed to be. He didn’t squeeze my arm, he wasn’t even practically touching it, it just looked like it. I liked him. Though I guessed since he was here to get me out, he wouldn’t harm me. Why would he?

So, as he said, this was our last day at the kitchen before the other group took our places, as the chef, too, explained further. And as for a speciality, he made us work even more because of some event that was happening. We had twice as much work and only one break. I didn’t even have time to just look towards the others to give a nod or a smile, let alone to say ‘hi’ ...

When we were done, five of the girls were held back to clean up, me being one of them. The other four girls I didn’t know. And on top of that, one of the girls were missing today. We were down to eighteen, nine girls, nine boys.

When we were done and exited the kitchen, I went to change, as always, but Marell wasn’t there. I just shrugged and went anyway, he was probably late, or just already there waiting. But no, he wasn’t there waiting for me. I went in though, and changed, hoping he’ll be outside when I’m done, but no, again. I looked around, but he was nowhere. I started walking back to my room, fearing what someone would think if they saw me alone ...

“Wait!” Someone called after me; their voice not more than a whisper. “You shouldn’t be seen walking without an escort,” Marell said and slowed down to my pace. I didn’t respond anything, just looked forward and walked.

Stepping into my room, I instantly fell on my bed, and fall asleep in minutes, that’s how tired I was.


	5. Chapter 5

For the next few weeks, we were sentenced to do the laundry. It turned out that the girls from the previous group stayed, and we joined them, their boys joining our boys in the kitchen. I didn’t really find it fair, but as if my opinion mattered ...

It was hard, I got to admit. It didn’t seem hard in the beginning, but it was. Collecting the clothes, washing them, drying them, ironing them, folding them, and outing them to the right carts or shelves. We didn’t only do clothes, but linen too. The good thing about it was that we could go around the level we were on to collect them, so I got to see the rest of the area. Oh, and unescorted. But from the upper levels, the other, older women brought the laundry.

Endless work with only one thirty-minute break ... it was quickly tiring me out. I kept falling in bed in the evening when we finished, and when I was woken up in the morning, I didn’t feel like I’ve had enough sleep. Ever.

Holla, Dielle and Sollyn were with me, and we had smaller conversations whenever we could. Holla kept sneaking small baked goods in and was dividing it among us. I didn’t know how she managed to do that, maybe with the help of Millard, but I didn’t really care.

One day, Sollyn didn’t come in. I thought she may just be late with a good reason, but no one was ever late. Those who didn’t show up in the morning never showed up. Dielle was not herself since the day Sollyn didn’t come anymore. According to her, they were not near each other, so they only saw the other, too, when they were here. She looked ... broken. But sadly, we couldn’t do much because we didn’t know anything.

We didn’t know why they were gone or where they were. We didn’t know if they were targeting people on purpose, or just randomly, and what they did with them. But I had enough when only a few days ago another girl went missing.

“Dielle,” I whispered to the girl next to me, hanging up the washed linen. Her only response was a nod. None of us looked at the other, we learnt that in the beginning, when we were caught talking and were scolded badly. “Do you remember the day Sollyn was taken?” Another nod. “Did anything out of the ordinary happen that day?”

A nod. “She didn’t go the usual way. She took the turn before,” she said quietly, reaching for another linen to hung. “I have no idea what’s that way,” she added.

“Do you want to find out?” I asked. Her head snapped towards me, and luckily, we were in the cover of the hung linens, so the woman overseeing our work didn’t see her. She instantly turned back after glancing around.

“I would ... But how are you going to do that?” She asked.

I went to collect the baskets because we didn’t have that much to hang, and if we lingered too long, it would be noticeable. So, we took the baskets back, and got the other ones, and went back to hung them up too.

“You know when we’re collecting all the stuff from around here?” A nod. “I had a plan. We’ll not go to collect them, but we’ll go the way Sollyn went. We’re unescorted, and we got enough time to get there, even if we can’t find out where exactly she is. We can build that up day by day.” I explained. She didn’t say anything for a minute, I guessed she was processing it.

“It sounds nice ...”

“I understand if you don’t want to risk it ... I stopped and stepped beside her. I put my hand on her shoulder, and she looked back at me. “I can do it alone if you don’t want to come.”

“I can’t let you.” She turned around. “She is my sister. I’m responsible for her.” I smiled softly and nodded. “Do we tell Holla?”

“I will, yes. When I have the chance.” I sighed. “Let’s–”

“What’s taking so long?” The woman stepped out of the cover of the linen, hands on her hips.

“We’re just done,” I said, pointing to the empty baskets.

“Back to work, girls.” She held her arm out by her side, motioning towards the pile of dirty clothes that were needed to be washed.

We could only continue our conversation a while later.

I only nudged her arm but didn’t turn towards her. “Let’s start tomorrow. When we’re–” I stopped because the woman was looking our way. I continued when she wasn’t looking anymore. “When we’re going out.”

“Okay,” she whispered and nodded.

During our break, I told Holla what we planned. She admitted that she thought of it already when Sollyn went missing but didn't dare to do anything. She was – is – too afraid to get into trouble. I didn’t say I wasn’t, but I was willing to risk it. Apparently, because of their heritage, they had more to lose. But I am willing to take that risk for them if it meant finding out what the hell was happening here.

Because since that day when I asked Marell to tell me why I am here, he still didn’t. He never said anything when weekly I asked – reminded – him of it. He either ignored me or changed the subject or just merely shushed me. I was getting really fed up with him shushing me most of the time.

So, even though Holla wouldn’t participate in our plan, she did wish us luck. She promised she wouldn’t say anything to anyone and that she doesn’t know what we were planning. Of course, she did, but if someone asked, she didn’t.

So, on the next day, when we went on our morning collection when the others were already out of sight, we turned down the other corridor and headed the way Dielle led me. She told me on the way that they always go the same way, but this time Sollyn took the turn one before.

It took us a few minutes to get there, with continually watching out back, and around the corner. It must have been our lucky – _very_ lucky – day that we only saw one person, a boy from the kitchen, from our group. He didn’t see us though, so then we continued.

“This is where she went.” Dielle pointed down the corridor.

I nodded that way and keeping against the wall, I walked in front of her. “If anything happens, you run back, understood? I’m not letting you, too, get taken,” I said, keeping my back to her, but turning my head to the side. “The worst case is that they get me too, but then I might end up where she is then I could maybe get her out.”

“All right,” she said. I nodded, and we kept going.

But just after a few more steps, and we came to a choice. Ahead, or right. “We should head back, and continue another time,” I said. She agreed, and we made our way back quicker this time.

Holla was there, at the end of a corridor when we got back. I didn’t know if she was waiting for us or not, but she had laundry in her hands, which she divided between Dielle and me so that we won’t stand out not having anything.

“Thank you, Holla,” Dielle said.

“No worries, but hurry,” she said, and we all hurried back to the laundry and continued the work we’ve been set.

***

During this time, over the next days, Dielle and I have gone and explored the way Sollyn went. When we were at the first crossroad, we debated going the two ways, but that idea was quickly won over by both of us fearing the unknown. So, we decided we go forward. When we came to another crossroad, we decided to go back, take the other road, and see where that gets us. It had the same choice as the forward one, left or right.

“Wait, this could be just a circle then,” Dielle said. “They both go straight, and if we go this way”– she pointed left –“Then we’ll end up at the end of the other one.”

“You know, you might be right. But then still, there are two more ways to go, and it would take more time to go one way, then go down the other.”

“Then we split up.” She suggested. “Come on! This is the only way.”

I sighed. “Fine. But tomorrow. Let’s go back now.”

So, on the next day, at the first crossroad, we separated. I took the corridor forward, and she took the one to the right. We decided that we would only go one more hallway, then head back. We can’t really do much in the time we got to collect the laundry, and we couldn’t risk being caught late.

When I got to the second crossroad, I turned left. It was a long corridor, and it turned out to be a dead-end, so I turned back. But instead of turning onto the way back, I continued ahead and turned right. Dielle was right, it was a circle. I walked down the corridor she went, looking for her.

That corridor then turned onto a crossroad of three choices. Left, ahead, right. Now, I couldn’t have guessed which one she went down, but as far as I saw down the corridor, she was nowhere. So, I turned back.

Then my heart stopped.

Two people were coming right this way, and there was no way they hadn’t already seen me since the corridor was straight. The only way I could go was the three choices, but they would see where I’m going, and on top of that, they have the advantage of knowing the place. So, I just ... froze. I just stood there as they basically run towards me.

“What are you doing here?” He looked down at me and noted my clothes. I was wearing what everybody else was wearing, all white. One of them grabbed my arm and took me back to the laundry. They told the woman in charge where they found me, then left. She didn’t say anything, just sighed heavily, and ordered me back to work.

As soon as I stepped in, I spotted Dielle already working. She must have made her way back when she came across the three other corridors. Mine was longer to take, and on top of that I even went down hers, so I probably would have been late anyway. _Oh, my ... what would this turn into?_

***

“How could you have been so senseless?” Marell shouted at me when we were in my room at the end of the day. I was sitting on the chair, and he was pacing around.

“What was I supposed to do? It has been weeks, and you still haven’t said a word why I am here! I’m starting to believe you’re not on my side after all,” I said, drawing my legs up.

He snapped his head toward me. “I am. But this was a stupid idea! A stupid and careless and senseless and irresponsible idea! Can you imagine what will happen now?” He pointed to the door. “That woman has probably already told Garett where you were instead of work.” He buried his face in his hands and slid them down it and left it snap to his thighs.

“We– I was looking for Sollyn,” I said quietly.

He turned to me, shock on his face. “Why?”

“Because you tell me nothing!” I shouted and jumped out of the chair. “You didn’t give me answers, so I went to have them myself.”

“Don’t blame this on me!” He pointed a finger at me. “This is all you and your ridiculous curiosity. This is going to cost you, I can feel it.”

Fear filled me once again. “No. Please. Talk to him.”

“You brought this upon yourself.” He held his hands up in a defence position.

“You can’t be serious! You call yourself my rescuer, and here you are; backing out when it would be the time to save me.” I shouted.

“What ‘rescuer’?” A voice came from the wide-open door. None of us noticed when Garett – my fabulous host – stepped in. _Oh, my ... what trouble did I get Marell?_ “I asked you something.” He looked straight at me, not even seeming to notice Marell in there.

“I– Nothing. I ... I don’t know why I said that” I said. It was the lamest lie I’ve ever told – not that I’ve said that many –, but I hoped he bought it.

He just straightened up and turned to Marell. “You can go now. Get back to your post.”

“Yes sir,” Marell said, and not even looking at me, he left the room. _Oh, boy ..._ “As for you,” he said, and continued after the door was shut. “Even though I didn’t state it because I thought you are clever enough to figure it out yourself, but there is no skipping work, and going on about exploring the place!”

“Why? What are you hiding that you are so afraid of me finding?” I asked. It didn’t matter now, I was in trouble up to my chin already, I couldn’t make it, even more, worse than it would have been previously.

“That’s none of your damn business,” he said, stepping closer, pointing a finger at me. “But be prepared for your punishment.” He turned around and before I could have stepped after him to ... do anything to get myself out of it; he turned back around. “Oh, and your little partner-in-crime would get her share too.”

The sound I made was foreign to my ears. It was half-way between a cry and a protest. “No!”

“‘No’?”

“Don’t punish her,” I said quieter this time.

“Why not? She deserves it.”

“No. She doesn’t. I– I dragged her into it. It was my idea. She didn’t want to do it, but I made her,” I said. It was partially true, but I was ready to say anything that would save her from big trouble.

“You did?” He asked more sceptically than curious.

“Yes.” I nodded slightly. “It was all me.”

“Then you’ll get the punishment for both of you,” he said an opened the door. He motioned with his arms swinging in front of him to go ahead.

I stepped through the door, and him leaving the door open, walked ahead of me. He kept letting me go ahead of him, then catching up to me. He led me through this level, and we only took one set of stairs. He didn’t push me, or nudge me, or even touch me. I wasn’t complaining, but this ... weird, twisted ‘kindness’, was bugging me. He opened a door, and for the first time since he led me here, he went before me.

We were outside.

I looked around in awe. It might have been more than a few weeks, it might have been three-four months because there was snow on the ground. Not a lot, but a considerable amount. I didn’t get to have a good look around, because he nudged me forward.

He went on an uncleared path while he led me to a smaller, shed-like house outside. It looked like it was made of metal though, not wood. He led me in, and I stopped right as I stepped in because I couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black. When I wanted to turn around, I heard the bang of the door before I got to fully turn. I ran to the door and banged on it with my fists.

“He-e-ey! Let me out!”

“Maybe this way, you’ll learn to obey the rules.” I heard his muffled voice through the door, but however hard I hit on the door next, didn’t matter. He was long gone.

I didn’t see anything in there, I didn’t know how big it was, or if there was something – or someone – in there. I didn’t dare to move away from the door, so I settled down next to it, so I could easily get out if the door opened again.

If it opened again.

I was behind the whatever place I was at, and I didn’t think more people walked around here than they did in that lower level.

For the first time, I was really, fully, terrified of what’s going to happen. It practically ate me up from the inside. I was afraid to blink, to breathe too loudly in case ... I didn’t know in case of what. But I knew that my whole self was shaking, and not just from the terror. It was freezing cold in here since it was a metal shed, and it led the outside cold in.

I was wondering which would happen sooner; me freezing to death, or starving to death, or dying in the terror that shook my whole self. _Can you die from that?_ I didn’t want to find out.


	6. Chapter 6

I have no idea how long I was there, but it seemed like days. No one came in, and I haven’t heard noises from outside either that would mean that someone’s here. Occasionally, I stood up to bang on the door, because I thought I heard something. It might have been someone walking outside, in the snow, it might have been something or someone in here with me, or it might have been just my mind playing tricks on me. But when they take your sight away, your other senses function better, and I swore I heard something every time.

When someone finally came, the first thing I heard was two knocks on the door. I stood up and prepared myself for who was about walk in, as much as I could. When the door opened, and the daylight from outside filled the room, I turned my head away because it was blinding.

I heard that someone who opened the door walk over to me and put one hand on my back and one on my left arm, he led me out of there.

When I knew I was outside because I felt the ground’s unevenness. Since this person didn’t hold me that strongly, practically not even holding my arm, I knew who that might be because there was only one person.

“Marell?” I whispered, my right hand still in front of my eyes because of the blinding daylight, and because the snow just reflected that and made it even brighter.

“Shhh. Come on,” he said through his teeth. He didn’t speak until we were in my room again, which was a long time for me to remain silent and without answers to my questions that just formed in my head since he brought me here.

“Wh–”

“Shhh,” he said, holding up a finger, to wait, and he closed the door. “Before you bombard me with your seemingly endless amount of questions, I need to apologise.”

“For what?” I shrugged.

“For the way, I spoke to you yesterday.” He looked down, shaking his head. “I ... I shouldn’t have. If they find out ....,” he said his last sentence so quiet that I barely heard him.

“Who ‘they’?” I asked, but when he didn’t even look at me, let alone answer, I stepped to him. “Marell. Answer me, please. Who will find out?”

“Your parents.” He finally lifted his head and looked at me. There was something in his eyes, sadness maybe? Guilt?

“My dad?”

“No. Your parents.”

“I don’t understand. My mom died long ago. It’s just my dad. One, not two.” I shook my head.

“No. Your birthparents. Elynn and Othel.”

I shook my head. “No. My parents are Jullian and Molly. My mom died when I was two. They shot her. My dad was there, he saw it.” I argued.

“They are your foster parents. Your birthparents trusted Jullian to take care of you because they thought you will be safer with them.”

“So, what are you saying now? That my dad is one of you?”

“No. He is an ordinary human man, just like me. He knew your father. When your parents found out that they had you, they were the happiest people in the world. The Fae and the Witches line can finally be in peace. Not every Witch liked the Fae, but when two noble people of each found love and bore a child ... But then they discovered that this has a cost. Having you would mean a new race, without any knowledge about it. They found out that there were stories, legends about a simple medallion that held the power of the First Witches.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’ve heard of it.”

The story said that the First Witches had the most power in the world. But then one of them turned to the dark side and started using his power against the others. They had a battle against him, and defeated him, and decided that they will store their power in a medallion forged by the last of a noble metal that hasn’t been seen since the dawn of time. It said to be able to contain the powers of the First Witches which they locked into the medallion and sealed it. Together they enchanted it so only someone with significant enough power will be able to open it.

“But what does this have to do with anything?” I shrugged.

“Before they heard about the medallion, they researched about half-Fae and half-Witch people. There were not that many, but it had been many, many centuries since the last walked on the earth. They discovered they all had the power to control all four elements, which is enough power if used badly, to open the medallion, and use that power mixed with theirs, and destroy the world.” He paused. “Now, your parents knew they would raise their child not to be anything but good, but then they still couldn’t have known if their child would be _used_ by someone. So, they decided that they will have you, but not raise you. They gave you to Jullian to be raised in a normal life, where you don’t know about your heritage.”

I didn’t understand something. “But ... if I am to have the power of the four elements ...” I held my hands up, palms facing upwards. “Why don’t I feel anything?”

“Your powers are dormant. You never knew about them, you never wanted to use them, you were probably never that emotional, like angry, to wake it.”

He was right. I lived a happy life, even though it was not much. My dad always made sure that I was pleased with the end of the day, and he did everything he could to give me everything I needed. I was never angry, I had no reason to be.

“So ... I’m here because Garett wants to use me to unlock that medallion?” I asked still slightly confused, but mostly just trying to process all that had been said.

“Yes.”

“But ... I have been here for weeks now ... Why didn’t he just ...” I paused, searching for words, “... I don’t know. Use me when I got here? And why are Fae, maybe Witches too, here?”

“Because he doesn’t know that you are the Half-Blood. He knows you are different from the others, but he won’t know until he takes you, and tortures you until you give into your powers,” he said, quieting his voice down.

“So, that’s what’s being done to Sollyn? He ... He is torturing her?” I asked, in shock.

“Most likely.” He sighed, and I felt I couldn’t breathe. “I’ve only caught a glimpse of what he was doing when I was stationed to guard the place he did it at.” He shook his head. “It’s horrible. They are all chained up and tortured in every possible way to get them to use their powers against them. Then they turn it up ... I don’t know how they do that, but they practically suck the powers out of them.” He shook his head again. “I don’t know what I would do, what your _parents_ would do to me if you ended up there.” He stepped closer to me and grabbed my shoulders. “Promise me not to ever go there. Promise me!”

“I don’t even know where it is,” I said, trying to back out of his gentle, but firm grip.

“Good.” He let me go and stepped one back. “Good. Just ... do what you are told to, and you’re not going to get into trouble.”

“How’s the escape plan going?” I asked.

“I’m working on it,” he said. “But you need to stop with whatever plan you have in your head. Do _not_ go and look for that Fae girl, understood?” He asked.

I remained silent because if I said ‘yes’, I’d be lying to him. There was no way that I will let her be tortured wherever she was, I didn’t care if I paid the price. I will get her out, and I think I know where she might be.

Marell just stared at me, with cold, piercing eyes. He pointed a finger at me. “If you got there, and you’ll get caught, you will end up there and,” he extended his arms next to him, “I can’t get you out from there because in the process I will be caught, and if I’m caught I’m either locked up or killed on site. I can’t get you out if I’m dead. Or even if you are.” He quieted down in the end.

I got it, I did, but I just couldn’t let Sollyn there. I had to act. That’s why I had a plan which involved no one else. But I wasn’t going to do it until the second day when I’m back at work. If I go to work on the first day, and I’m not going back, that’s going to be noticeable for absolutely everyone. But if I go to work at another time, or maybe three times, or more ... they will think ‘okay, she’s no trouble’. I hope.

But the thing is that Sollyn may don’t have three or four days, so the sooner I go, the better.


	7. Chapter 7

I got delayed with my plan because the lady who oversaw our work didn’t let me out of her sight, and before or after that I couldn’t go because Marell chaperoned me everywhere. When I was back collecting the clothes, a week went by.

And even then, I had someone with me.

When I finally was alone again, another week went by. _They really didn’t trust me._

In that morning, when I was finally alone to collect the clothes, I decided to go and look for Sollyn. I told no one, I spoke to no one about this, not even Dielle. She accepted that we are not able to save her sister, and I didn’t want to get her hopes up by making her believe I can. Because even I didn’t know if I could pull this off.

So, I fast-walked until I got to the point where I had three choices ahead of me. Left, ahead or right. I had a feeling in my gut that it’s the one leading forward, and if I looked carefully, I noticed a difference in the wall of the middle one.

As I walked down it, I turned out to be right. This corridor was made of stones stacked on each other long ago. The floor was slightly going downwards and getting colder. At the end of it, there was an arch, and the corridor slightly turned right. The lights on the wall turned into torches, and a shiver ran through my back and not only because of the cold.

When I reached the end of the corridor – this time for real –, there was a double door in front of me. It wasn’t locked, and as quietly as I could, I went in.

I walked into a hall.

It was divided into three sections, as I saw in the dim light. Along the walls there were cells or rooms I didn’t see clearly, I only saw that there were cubes not big enough for someone. I turned left.

They were cells indeed. But they were empty.

It looked like there was someone in there previously thought, and the scent that lingered around was turning my stomach up as I reached the back.

On the left side of it was only an empty cell, so I went to the right side. These were not empty now. People were sitting in the corner, the youngest didn’t seem much older than me. I faintly recognised him as the first boy to disappear when I went to the kitchens. I only remember him because he has red hair.

I barely noticed it now, but when he lifted his head and looked at me with those brown eyes full of terror, I remembered. He stood up and ever so slowly walked to the bars. He couldn’t reach it though, the chains his hands were tied to didn’t let him.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said so quietly, that I had to lean in to understand. “You need to go.”

“Is Sollyn here?” I nod, and he looked right. I walked along the cells until I reached the one in which Sollyn was.

She was tied up too, but on a shorter chain. She was practically hanging off the wall. Her hands were so high, they were dangling beside her head while sitting sideways on the dirty floor.

“Sollyn!” I whispered. She moved her head but didn’t look at me. I looked around before I called out for her again. “Sollyn.” She finally slowly lifted her head. “Sollyn it’s me, Elinor.”

“Dielle?” She asked whispering.

“No. She is not here.” I looked around for something to open the cell. It was just a simple lock if I hit it hard enough with something it would give away. I just needed to find something.

I left the cell, and as fast as I could quietly, I hurried to look around for something. I did find a rock tha fit perfectly into my hand and ran back to Sollyn.

“Hey. Sollyn.”

“Elinor?” She asked quietly.

“Yes.” I breathed in relief. “I’m going to get you out of here,” I said, and I hit on the lock as hard as I could so I won’t have to make too much noise. It didn’t let go, but another hit would do it.

“Stop. They’re going to hear it.” The boy from a few cells down said.

I hit on the lock for the second time, and when the lock gave away, I stopped and looked to the door. I waited for someone to walk in, but no one did. If I came across no one on my way here, there was no one here then. But I didn’t think I had much time. I didn’t know how long they were gone, and when they would be coming back.

I opened the cell door and stepped in. I tried not to gag from the smell that hit me and stepped over to Sollyn. She was all dirty, and I noticed that blood was on her arms, legs and on her face too.

“What did they do to you?” I breathed as I stood up and hit on the circle that held the chains up.

“Stop!” I heard the boy. I heard he wanted to say something else, but then the double door in the front shot wide open and my head snapped that way, my head froze in mid-air for another hit on the now deflected shaped circle.

I didn’t have time to go and pull the cell door shut. From the angle I was standing in, I saw the door. And that meant that they saw me too, along with the open cell door.

There was nowhere to hide. Although the cell was dark, it wasn’t dark enough to hide a girl in all white.

The two men were coming this way fast. As they stopped before the cell, one of them grabbing the door, the other just standing next to him, the one grabbing the door, put his other hand on his hips.

“Well ... I thought you would learn from your mistakes by now.” I recognised his voice. It was the leader. The other one was not Marell because this one was way shorter, and chubbier than him.

The leader said something to the chubby one who then scurried off. I guessed he ran off to tell Garett. But I didn’t care at this moment. Bring at me anything, I didn’t care, if Marell stayed out of the way, and so did my friends.

“Get out of here.” He stepped into the cell and reached to grab my arm. Before he could do that, the stone in my hand, I swung my arm towards him. He stopped and leaned back, getting out of the way of my arm. He stepped towards me sideways and grabbed my other arm. I tried to swing my right hand again, but stepping behind my back, he reached for it and forced it back so hard, it made me scream.

“Shut up.” I felt his breath on my neck, and he knocked the stone out of my hands, and pushed me forward, out of the cell. Kicking the door shut with his feet, he struggled to hold me tightly. I was throwing myself all over to free my arm forced behind my back.

I saw Sollyn standing up and closer to the bars now, tugging at her chains. I knew if she pulled hard enough, the circle holding them would give away eventually. I hoped she could do it. She needed to get out. The door was unlocked, all she needed to do was get herself free from her chains and run out of here.

I freed my left arm in the throwing around and turned to face him. As hard as I could, I swung my arm towards his face, hitting him right in the eye. His grip loosened on my right as he grabbed to his eye.

I freed my right arm just as the door swung open and Marell stormed in.

I have never seen him so angry. In his eyes, the fire of anger was burning so much that it scared to just to look at him. Even though he looked at the other man first, I knew his anger was towards me, not him, since I went behind his back and did what he deliberately asked me not to do.

He grabbed my arm and held me down, but I knew it was only for an act, to keep up his role here. He pushed me against the empty cage in front of us and leaned to my ear.

“I hope you’re happy now. Garett himself is coming here. He sent me ahead. He is going to give you a hell of a punishment.”

The world seemed to start to spin as he said his last words. My head felt heavy and filled with something soft that blocked the sound out and distorted it. I saw the guy I hit in the eye come at us, but Marell held an arm out, calming him down. He was still huffing, though.

 _What have I done? What did I bring on myself?_ I just hoped that Marell would not get into trouble. I really did. I wondered what Garett would make him do ... and if he would do it ...

Only when the door swung open, and the bang echoed in the hall, did I snap back to reality, and I felt fear flew in my very veins, and my heart jumped to my throat.


	8. Chapter 8

Slowly, he made his way towards me, grinning. I so wanted to wipe that smile off his face, and I was ready to lounge myself towards him, but Marell held me back strong.

“Don’t do any more stupid things.” He breathed through his teeth.

“Well, if it’s not our little rebel.” His gaze slid to the broken cell door, and Sollyn standing at the bars free at last, but maybe not in time. “Come.” He nodded to Marell, and he obeyed, pushing me in front of him after Garett.

But we didn’t go towards the double door.

Garett walked past us, towards the back, and I only noticed something now, that I didn’t before; there was a door in the back, which we now went through.

It wasn’t so dark in here, but this room was a lot smaller, about the size of my room. Garett walked ahead of us, and as soon as we stepped in, Marell must have seen something because I heard him breath ‘no’ as if he feared something.

“Bring her here,” Garett said, and when I noticed him standing by something that I didn’t want to believe it was that.

“No. No!” I cried. I was thrashing against Marell. I knew he had to keep on the act, did he have to right now too?

“Oh, now you want to back out of the consequences? Well, you should have thought of that before, darling.” Garett calling me ‘darling’ sent my stomach turning upside-down.

Still not entirely willing to go through his plan, Marell pushed me to where Garett was standing. He grabbed my arms and tired it. Yanking on the chains I tried to free myself, but I knew it was of no use. My arms were only slightly bent and above my head, as the chains were hanging from higher.

I turned around, my arms twisting, to see them.

“Do it,” Garett said while handing something to Marell. I didn’t see what it was because Garett showed his back to me. Then he stepped aside, and my heart stopped to the sight of what he held in his hands. _No. No. No. No. No. No. He can’t be serious. No! He is not going to ..._ “Go on. Do it! Or I’ll do it.”

Marell hesitated, holding the whip in his hands like he has never seen or held one. I hope he didn’t or didn’t have to. He looked up to me, then right to Garett. A question formed in his eyes, but I doubted that Garett noticed, or cared.

“Do it, or I’ll do it!” He repeated, raising his voice and pointed towards me. I turned my head and closed my eyes. I didn’t believe this. I thought of everything that he could think of as a punishment, but not _this_. I started to feel the weight of what I did, even if it was just something like this, but I still don’t think that _this_ is a right punishment. And now, considering what condition I saw Sollyn in, I believed this is the only great punishment he could think of for me, seeing how sick of a mind he has ...

When I glanced back to Marell, I saw him take it into his hands and looking at me with a blank face. _Don’t do it. Don’t! Please!_ I begged him, hoping he would read it from my eyes.

“Oh, come on!” Garett snatched it out of his hand and swung it.

I don’t know which was louder, my scream or the snap of the whip on my back.

I held my forehead against the stone and breathed heavily. There was a line I felt on my back, towards my right side where I felt my skin tingle.

He did another swing, and I screamed once again. My knees shook, and I wasn’t sure I could stand another.

“Stop!” I heard Marell and saw him leap in front of Garett when I glanced to the side. “Don’t you think this is a bit much of a punishment?” He asked.

Garett lowered the whip, and I think I actually saw him thinking. Then he finally said, “No.” He took a step closer to him. “This is just the right punishment. Now stand aside, or you can join her for disobedience.” He growled.

I saw Marell hold his hand out towards him. Garett tilted his head a little but said nothing as he handed it over. Marell grabbed it and slowly turned around. He noticed me looking, and I saw that the corner of his mouth round upwards, and mouthed the word, ‘no’, but my sight was blurred by tears, so I wasn’t sure.

I turned back towards the wall, my forehead against the wall, and waited for the next blow. Which didn’t come. I did hear the snap sound of the whip, but it didn’t land on my back.

I turned my head and saw that it lay on the floor, and Marell was on top of Garett, hitting the life out of him. Garett didn’t seem to be doing anything, maybe he was too surprised. I wanted to shout him to stop, but then again, Garett did deserve this. For what he did to Sollyn, to me, and of course to all the others I may not know of.

Garett finally forced Marell off him, and he rolled over, landing on his back, but standing right up, only to be punched by him, sending him to the floor again. Then he kicked into him and looked at me. A shiver ran through me from his look. He glanced at the whip on the floor but turned and left the room.

“Garett knows,” Marell said, his expression reflecting pain.

My eyes started to feel heavy, and my legs gave away. But I didn’t drop, no, Marell held me up as carefully as he could while not touching my back.

“Shhh.” I heard, then the faint sound of the key’s rattle in the lock. When my hands were free of the chains, I would have dropped on the floor since my legs couldn’t hold my weight, but he held me up.

“Aaahhh!” I cried up when he made me sit up against the wall.

“Sorry. Sorry.” He breathed. “I’m sorry he did that. When I ...” he was looking for his words, “I couldn’t ...” He sighed.

“Shhh,” I said, my eyes closed. “It’s not your fault,” I managed to say.

“No. You got that right. If you would have just ... listened to me! This wouldn’t have happened.” He raised his voice, but I saw his expression change right away from anger to regret.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” I breathed.

“What?”

“To the hall with the cells.” I turned my head slightly towards the door. “If you wouldn’t have been seen here ...” I paused to take a breath, “... you could have come up with an idea to get me out.” I opened my eyes.

He shook his head. “It wouldn’t have changed anything. He would have noticed I’m missing, and he either would have gone looking for me, and demand an answer why I refused an order, or wait for me to get back to you.” He tilted his head to be in my vision. “He knows, Elinor. I think he knew all along. I think he just wanted to ... have a right moment to be sure.”

“And this was it.” I breathed, closing my eyes again.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep.” I felt his hand holding my face.

“I’m trying,” I said. I was afraid. Afraid to fall asleep because of what might have been waiting for me through the darkness. But it was so inviting. My eyes kept shutting, for longer and longer seconds.

The last thing I heard him say was, “Your parents are going to kill me.”

I think I responded, “I’ll make sure they don’t.” But I might have just thought it. Either way, I meant it. He was too kind to me, kinder than anyone here. They won’t harm him, he saved my life just now.


	9. Chapter 9

“Elinor!” He called her name out when she didn’t respond. “Damn it.” He reached behind her back, and under her knees, and lifted her up from the floor, and hurried out of the room.

When he was out and in the hall with the cells, he noticed that the girl that was in the open cell was now trying to free the boy from his chains. They both froze when they saw him, the girl backing away from the boy. There was fear in their eyes, and he understood why. To them, he was just a minion of the man who has done this to them. The girls’ expression didn’t change even after she glanced at Elinor.

He nodded towards the rock on the floor. “Use that. Hit on right on the weak spot of it, and hard. When you’re done, I suggest you grab one of the torches along the corridor and run the hell out of here. But before that, you need to go and see the lady you did laundry with. She will help you if you tell her Marell sent you,” he said, and the girl nodded, looking less frightened now.

“Will she be okay?” She asked, referring to Elinor, he understood.

“Yes,” he said, and not lingering around for another second, he hurried out of the double door and down the hall, all the way to the only place he knew would be safe. He knew a woman here, who came with him here, but then their paths parted, but he knew where her room was. She was a healer, he thought she could help her.

When he barged in, he was lucky she was right there, looking shocked now as he just stopped at the door, the unconscious girl in his arms. The woman cleared the table in the middle of the room and pointed to it. “Put her there, face down.”

She hurried away, and the man did as she asked. He stepped aside when the woman appeared again, and leaned against the wall, watching her worriedly. She cut the girls ripped shirt away and started cleaning it. “I need you to go out and make sure no one comes in. Lock the doors. The keys are on the wall.” She instructed him without looking at him.

He stepped to the wall behind her, where the keys were on the side, towards the door, hanging on nails. “Got them,” he said. He looked back once more time to the girl, then left the room and closed the doors from the outside.

***

_This girl was lucky,_ the woman thought. She did everything she could to make sure the gashes didn’t get infected. She prepared new clothes for her and got rid of the old ones, now all there was left to do is wait for her to wake up.

But they didn’t have much time.

Marell came back only for the time to explain what happened. They knew each other, they came here at the same time, for the same reason. The only thing is that while she was a nobody under the surface, Marell was someone, above it, and he got caught. At least they thought so. Which was just as bad as if they would have known for sure.

Hours later, when still no one came, she was getting worried. The girl was probably ready to walk when she woke up, but it depended on her. All they could do was wait, to give her time they didn’t have.

She tried to wake her up, but nothing had worked.

Marell told her he had a plan to get her out but didn’t explain further. He said he must leave, but he will keep the doors closed, and after she assured him that she has a second key to the doors, he went.

When the woman was giving up and thinking of taking the girl to where Marell told her she’ll be after he has done everything. He gave them three hours. Only one hour was left. She had everything ready to move, and more. She wished the girl would wake up soon because she doubted that she could take her to the meeting point by herself.

But then the girl’s hand moved, then she turned her head.

“Shhh. Shhh.” The woman sat back down on the chair next to her and caressed the girl’s hair. She tried to get up from the table, but she cried out as she lifted her head too much. “Ca-can you stand up?” The woman asked her.

“I d– I don’t know.” The girl shook her head.

“Let me help you.” She stood up. “Marell had come up with a plan. He is going to get you out, but I need you to stand up and walk. Can you do that?” She asked softly, helping her up. She nodded, in-between the wincing. The woman grabbed everything she prepared to take with her and helped her to stand. She grabbed the key and opened the door.


	10. Chapter 10

I didn’t think it was going to hurt this much. Hurt more afterwards than it did when it happened. I know it was only two lashes, but he wasn’t holding back at all. At least not after all the medication I’ve received. I felt hazy, and dizzy, and numb everywhere but my back. It was a miracle that I could stand up, let alone walk.

“We don’t have to go far,” she said.

“But what about my friends? I can’t leave them here?” I asked, ready to turn back for them.

“I know. Believe me, they are well cared for. But now, _you_ are the priority. I promise I’ll talk to Marell about it, but we have to hurry now.” She gently pulled me forward, and slowly but we made our way to the end of the corridor, which then turned right, then we took the stairs.

“This is a servants’ entry, no one comes here, so we’ll be able to slip out unnoticed.” She explained as she looked around for anything.

When she pushed the door open, the first thing I noticed was that it was dawn. Not night, dawn. I wondered how long I was out for. We took a sharp left, and I noted a car there.

“Wait,” I said and nodded towards the car.

“Don’t worry, that’s our way out,” she said, just as the car door opened and Marell’s head appeared. He waved with his hand to hurry up, and looking around, we run there. Well, fast-walked.

She helped me into the back seat, and I tried not to cry out too loudly as my back touched the back of the seat, even though there was about an inch-thick bandage across it, and a shirt too. The woman got into the front seat, and she was just about in the car when Marell started driving.

The road was uneven, and every time there was the slightest bump, I felt it like we went through a foot-deep hole. I tried to hold back my tears, or my shouts, but I couldn’t help to wince as my back contacted the seat.

“We’re almost out.” Marell glanced back, guilt sitting in his eyes as I saw his face in the mirror.

“I’m fine.” I waved it off, trying to smile. I saw them exchange a look, but none of them said anything. All I was trying to do was not to fall asleep. I didn’t want to, and I was still afraid to, too.

***

“Hey.” I heard a gentle male sound.

I opened my eyes, and at that moment – right after a cry of pain – I noted that I fell asleep, and not only I fell asleep, but because I wasn’t buckled up, I fell to the side, and now I was on my right side, and as I was about to sit up, I remembered what happened.

“Come on, let’s get you out,” Marell said, and helped me get out of the car.

“Where are we?” I asked, looking around. I saw a house, a small and old house, just a few metres away, some chickens scattered, a little garden before the house and nothing anywhere near. It was early morning, looking at the sun’s position in the sky.

“We’re at a safe place,” he said as he bent down to pick me up into his arms.

“I’m fine.” I waved him off. “I can walk.” There was no meanness in my voice, at least I didn’t intend it to be. He just nodded and holding onto me – or making sure I held onto him – he led me into the house.

It seemed empty. As we walked in, I saw into the kitchen and dining room ahead. There was a little living room with a fireplace to my right, an open space, and three doors to the right, ahead. Marell seated me down on the sofa before the fireplace, in which a fire was already lit.

He handed me a blanket, and as much as I could without causing myself too much pain, I got it over my shoulders and got comfortable. I drew my legs up, or tried to, then failed. I leaned back, and even though it hurt in the beginning, as soon as I didn’t move, it was fine.

Marell asked for the woman, whose name I didn’t know yet, and they stepped outside to talk. They didn’t close the door, and I faintly heard them talking about something. I caught one part of a sentence, though when the woman asked if ‘they were home’. Marell answered with a no, then lowered his voice and changed the subject.

I wondered who ‘they’ were. Good or bad people? Relatives maybe? He did say it’s a safe place, and I have no reason not to trust him. Just a little while later they came in, and the woman disappeared into the kitchen while Marell sat down next to me. Wincing, I turned towards him as much as I could.

“So ... What’s this place?” I asked. “We’re not just taking a poor family’s house, are we?”

“No. No, we’re not. This is my cousin’s place, they’re away for a while now.” He sighed and crossed his legs, putting his leg across his knee.

“What’s her name?” I nodded slightly towards where the woman disappeared to.

“Marion,” he said, staring into the fire. Something ran through his face, some sort of shadow when he said her name. I wonder if he had an old connection with her ...

Marion came back a few minutes later with a cup of steaming tea and handed it to Marell.

“Come. Let me have a look at you.” She helped me up and brought me to the room in the back. It was a simple room, with white walls, and a few types of furniture only. A bed, a chest of drawers, a table with a bowl of water on it, and a medical kit next to it. There was a chair under the little window which looked over to the garden, and to the fields beyond it.

I laid on the bed, face down as she requested it after she removed the bandages carefully.

“This might hurt,” she said as she sat down on the chair next to the bed. “A lot.” When she added that, my head shot back towards her. Her hands stopped in mid-air, and after a small nod by her, I turned my head back, and put my forehead on my arms in front of me.

Needless to say, it hurt like hell. And she was just cleaning it again. I tried my best not to scream, as the tonic touched the fresh wounds, but a muffled high-pitched sound did escape my mouth every now and then.

When she was finished, my back was throbbing with pain and my head was heavy, and I felt dizzy. She helped me up just enough to bandage me again, then she left the room and let me rest. I fell to sleep in minutes.


	11. Chapter 11

While Marion was in with her in there, he was unable to just sit there, while he heard Elinor’s muffled screams as the woman was caring for her. Multiple times in a minute, he just wanted to rush in there and stop it. He couldn’t bear to heard her suffer again.

He felt like he failed her.

Because he did.

He thought where he had gone so wrong that this happened. Of course, he couldn’t blame her, even though _she_ was the one going off wandering around, wanting to find more answers. Maybe if he had told her more ... But then again, she might have just gone after all ...

Why didn’t he turn against Garett in the beginning? He had the whip in his hands, ordered to lash her. He could have just taken it, turning on him instead, but no. He just stood there like a coward, unable to do anything from the shock and shame when he made the first lash. Then the second. But that one snapped him out if the shock and acted.

His head shot towards Marion as she finally exited her room. She must have seen his eagerness, because, with a soft smile, she said, “She’s fine. She’s asleep.” She took her apron off, and put it on the armchair, in which then she sat in, and closed her eyes.

“We need to go back,” she said after a few moments and opened her eyes.

“Have you gone mad?” He snapped his head towards her, eyes wide.

“It’s the right thing to do. Her friends–” She started.

“I won’t make it out alive if I go back.” He raised his voice, pointing to his chest.

“Then you don’t go alone.” She shrugged.

“No-ho-ho.” He shook his head. “You’re not coming with me.”

“Oh? Then you _are_ going?” Her eyes shone in the light coming from the fire.

“No,” he said shortly.

“But her friends–”

He cut her off again. “I know. I know.” He sighed. He stood up and walked over to the fireplace. He put his arm on the top of it, on the shelf, and looked down to the fire. “I didn’t want to leave them there, but I had no choice. If I had gone back to them, we might not have been able to slip out the way we did. They would have noticed a bigger group slipping away, even in the chaos.”

Marion stood up and walked over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he looked at her. A light seemed to light up in his eyes to the way she looked at him.

Once. Long ago, they _were_ together. It didn’t turn out the way they have expected or wanted, their paths had separated for too long too many times because of their careers. They ended it, but they promised that they will be there for the other as friends. And they kept that promise up until this moment, and _he_ didn’t feel awkward, but apparently, he didn’t know how she felt.

“We’ll figure something out,” she said. Marell looked back at the fire, and she took her hand away but remained standing next to him.

“Garett knew who I was. He probably knew all along. And if he knew that, then he knew why I was there and must know about her too,” he said, too quickly, his thoughts racing too fast in his mind.

“But if he knew about her, then why did he keep her there for this long?” She asked.

“He likes to play,” he said, looking at her, then turned to go and sit back down on the sofa. Marion joined him. “I’m not sure if he knew, but if he didn’t, he is likely to find out soon. He always has his way. Then ...” He stopped to collect his thoughts. “Then there would be a battle she can’t win alone.”

“Then we take her back to her parents.” She suggested.

He just looked at her, shocked, afraid. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? You plan to keep her hidden from them? After they entrusted you to bring her back?”

“No,” he said, but it sounded more like a question to her. “I ... _I’ve_ done this to her. It’s my fault.” He pointed to the room she was resting in.

“No, it’s not ....,” she said gently, trying to be comforting.

“Well, it’s not hers. At least, I can’t say that to her parents now, can I? ‘Hey, Your Majesties, I’m sorry your daughter’s back is ripped off her, but it’ all her fault.’ Like they would believe me or forgive me for that matter.” He threw his hands into the air.

“The only thing you can do is face them. Tell them the truth and happens what happens.”

“Thanks.” He glanced at her, coldly.

“Or you could just hide her from them, but then you have to explain that to _her_.” She shrugged.

“Thanks.” He repeated in the same tone. “Great choices.”

“Well, you’ve got to choose one,” she said, touching his hand before she went into the other room, the one next to Elinor’s, to go to sleep. He decided that he will be sleeping on the sofa and started making himself comfortable on it.

But he couldn’t go to sleep for hours.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up before the others. And I know that only because after I woke up and crawled off the bed, I stepped out of my room, and saw that Marell was not sleeping on the sofa as I thought he would, and the fire long out.

I went to the door, thinking they would be outside, and opened it, the gentle breeze blowing my hair, but then the door was shut by the strong arms that appeared next to me. It made me jump and take a few steps back.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Garett stood in front of me, with the whip in his hands, and the angry expression on his face. “I think we have an unfinished business to be finished.” He lifted his arm, and I screamed as everything went black.

“Hey. Hey!” Someone shook me awake. When I opened my arms, I saw Marell’s worried face above me. I sat up on the bed as he sat down in the chair. “Are you all right?” He asked, sounding careful.

“Yeah.” I shook my head. “It was just a bad dream.” He nodded, and an awkward silence fell on us. “Khm. Uh, do we have something to eat?” I asked quietly.

“Marion went to get food, she should be back any minute.” He stood up and walked over to the door to open it for me. We walked into the living room, and he lit a fire while I cuddled myself up in a blanket.

He sat up on the sofa when he was finished, and I placed my head on his shoulder. “I never thanked you.”

He scoffed. “For what?”

“For stepping in.” I paused. “For preventing him from–”

“You’re welcome,” he cut in. After a sigh, he continued. “I’m taking you to your parents. Today.” I didn’t know how to respond, so I just kept quiet.

 _My birth parents. I’m meeting them finally._ But I didn’t know what to think. What _they_ would think of me. It’s not that I didn’t care, I did, but they were the ones who gave me up, for a reason to keep me safe or not. They did what they did, and even though I wasn’t angry with them, I felt ... disappointed?

Marion stepped through the door with a basket of baked goods. We sat down to eat, and soon after – after Marion packed everything of hers up – we continued our journey to meet my parents.

Marell told me while he was driving on the empty dirt-roads, that my parents lived a bit far from the place I grew up in, but we would pass my town. Before I could ask him if we’re going to take a detour in my town, but he said ‘no’ right away.

“Please! I need to see my dad.” I begged. “Please, Marell.”

He kept quiet for a while, but I knew he would give in. “Fine. You’ll get an hour.” And that was all we talked about until we arrived in my town.

When he parked before my house, I shot right out of the car, and into the house. “dad?”

“Elinor?” I heard him from his room, then he appeared and ran to me. I winced as he hugged me but kept quiet. I didn’t want to worry him more than he was worried about me. “Are you all right, honey?” He brushed my hair away from my face and looked at me.

“Yes, dad, I’m fine now.” Marell and Marion stepped in. “dad, this is Marell and Marion. It’s thanks to them that I’m here.” He looked at them, then right back to me as if just looking away from me would make me disappear again. “But I can’t stay long,” I said before he could say anything.

“What? No. You’re not going anywhere!” He looked at them behind me. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

“We’re taking her to her parents,” Marell said casually, and my dad stiffened. I read from his face that he knew what he was talking about. I walked him to the sofa. I winced as I sat down next to him, and his head shot right at me.

“What happened to you?” He asked, looking scared.

“Nothing. I ... I was just kept locked up,” I said, and even though it wasn’t the whole truth, it was true.

“Locked up?” His eyes widened. “And beaten, I assume.” He pointed to me with his hand, palms upwards.

“What? No, I wasn’t.” I lied. I assumed he picked it up from the way I was sitting, or he probably noticed me wincing too. “But that doesn’t matter. We’ve come here to tell you that we’re going to my parents.”

He shook his head. “I’m not letting you go again. If they want to see you, they can come here,” he said.

“dad. Please.” I grabbed his hand. He kept quiet for a few moments, then nodded.

“All right. Fine.” He looked away, but I leaned in and hugged him. He hugged me back, and as he did, I couldn’t help it, but a wince escaped my lips. He looked at me, then to Marell, and I saw him looking down. “ _He_ did ... whatever to you?”

“No! No, he ... stopped it.”

“Stopped what?”

“It doesn’t matter dad,” I said. I stood up and walked to my room. I looked for the bag I packed on day one. It was by the foot of my bed. I grabbed it and walked to the mirror and looked at my reflection. I looked horrible. My eyes were red, my face sunken, and I looked tired. My hair was a mess, so I went through it with my brush. When I walked back out into the living room. dad was currently having an in-depth conversation with Marell, Marion in the kitchen making something as I saw.

“dad,” I called. He looked towards me but turned back to Marell and said one last thing before walking before me and hugging me again.

“Ahhh.” I cried out and stepped away.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I know what happened, Elinor. He told me,” my dad said, and I glanced at Marell, who now was with Marion. He caught me looking, but I didn’t look away, and neither did he. “He told me everything, a long story short, who he is, what he did.” My dad shook his head, and I looked back at him.

“You could come with us. They told me you and my parents were friends once, that’s why they trusted me with you in the first place,” I said.

“Yes, that’s true, but I can’t go. For the simple reason that I have a life, a job here. You’ll see you belong there. You go alone.” He smiled and gave a kiss on my forehead.

Marion and Marell were at the door now, waiting for me. I walked over to them, and before stepping out of the house, I looked back at dad, and mouthed ‘bye’.


	13. Chapter 13

It took us one and a half-day to get to ... to get there. Before we entered the city, we crossed a ‘barrier’, where a bunch of men were patrolling and checking who entered. One of them knocked on the window, and Marell rolled it down.

“Names, please.”

“Marell, Marion and Elinor,” Marell said, and the man standing outside looked up from his folder and sheets of paper when he said my name.

“Elinor, you said?” He asked back.

“Yes. Their Majesties’, Queen Elynn and King Othel’s daughter, Elinor,” Marell said with utter calmness as if what he said was an everyday sentence.

“Terribly sorry, Your Highness.” The man looked at me then waved to the other man who then opened the gate for us.

“They know who I am?” I asked.

“Of course,” Marion said. “They know who you are, and they know that your parents hid you far from their kingdom. From here,” she said, motioning ahead, towards the city in which now we were driving in.

It was a beautiful city. Houses decorated richly, and the people who walked the polished-clean streets, richer. All the colours were present in both fashion and architecture, just in their pale form. It looked like a dream. Then, in the middle of it – now I saw – stood the palace. It was how I imagined it would look from the look of the other houses surrounding it. It seemed utterly symmetrical, as a matter of fact, everything in the city did, and the town itself as in its layout.

As we passed the people enjoying their day, though they looked at us, they didn’t give us much thought. Some smiled as they saw me looking out of the window. I knew they knew who I was, but I assumed only by name, not my face. So, that smile was just a greeting as a commoner girl who was gazing out of a car, amazed by the city.

When we approached the palace gates, the men in front of it opened the gates without questioning who we were. The men in the front probably informed them about who we are. We rolled in through the gates, and through the park in front of the palace. When Marell stopped the car in front of it, and men came to open the door, I hesitated to get out. But after Marell and Marion got out, I did too.

Marell stepped next to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I ... I don’t think–”

“Yes, you can,” he cut me off. “I don’t even want to hear you say those words. You just go in there, say ‘hi’, and answer their questions casually,” he said, then followed the men who extended their hands ahead, indicating to follow them into the palace. With a sigh, I stepped onto the first step of the stairs, and took the other ones, with my legs shaking.

We walked through the halls, and finally into a room which looked like a study. I’m not sure if they have been notified during that short drive, that we were going, but when the men opened the doors, and I stepped in – Marell and Marion behind me –, they looked surprised.

Othel – dad – was sitting at his desk, and Elynn – mum – was standing in front of one of the bookshelves, and she – as she saw me – dropped the book she was holding.

The men left, and the others stayed at the door as I took a few steps forward.

“Elinor?” She asked. A bit awkwardly, but I nodded. She stepped over the dropped book which now laid opened, but face-down on the floor; and stepped before me. She stopped, hesitating if she should hug me, bet then she did draw me closer. Othel stood up from the desk but didn’t move from behind it. I looked over to him when Elynn let me go, but his expression was blank, shocked maybe.

I looked to Marell at the door, but Elynn linked arms with me and walked me to Othel. “Come out from behind the desk, please, dear,” she said to him. He obeyed and stepped out from behind the desk. He looked at me, and from that look, I felt small.

“How can you be sure?” He asked, looking at her.

“Othel!” She frowned. “I do recognise my daughter, thank you. You don’t have to be a Fae to be able to, only a mother,” she said. “But if you try, you could smell it on her. Or feel the strength of her dormant powers,” she continued. Something appeared on his face, recognition maybe, but he looked at me differently after she finished. Then he looked over to Marell and Marion at the door.

“Step closer,” he said to Marell, and he obeyed.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Marell, you brought my daughter back, and I thank you for that,” he said, and Marell nodded. “But you did not keep one promise.” Marell stiffened but didn’t look away. “You did not make sure she was not harmed.” _How did he know?_ What _did he know?_ I looked over to Elynn, and she just put her hand behind me and put her hand on my upper back, just above one of the scars.

“Your Majesty–” Marell tried, but he cut him off.

“You don’t have to be non-human to notice the way she walks, the way her face changes when she steps or turns,” he said.

“Your Majesty–” Marell tried again, but I stepped in front of him, trying not to wince at how my skin twisted by my sudden movement.

“It’s not his fault, it’s mine. I disobeyed his orders and got ... caught.” I explained, and I saw Marell stiffen next to me.

“‘Orders’?” Othel asked.

I understood what he meant. “Not _orders_ -orders, just ... He was just trying to make sure I didn’t do something that might get me caught or into trouble. And I didn’t listen. It’s not his fault!” I couldn’t bear for him to get into trouble because of me. Othel lifted his head but said nothing. “But it’s not even important,” I added and stepped before Marell.

“All right. We will have a conversation about it later then.”

I exhaled. There was no point arguing with him when I just met him, and anyway, too.

“Come, honey, let’s get you changed,” Elynn said, and linking arms with me, she took me out of the room with Marion following us. I looked back to Marell and Othel before the door closed behind us, the latter now standing behind his desk. I was worried about Marell, he didn’t do anything wrong.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to him,” Elynn said.

“I hope,” I said quietly.

“Let me take you to your room,” she said as we took a right turn.

“My room? I have a room?” I asked disbelievingly.

“Of course. I ... I always hoped you will one-day return, so I kept a room just for you. It is your old room, just with proper furniture for you.” I saw the pain in her eyes as she said that. I moved closer to her, trying to comfort her.

When we arrived there, we stood in front of a white, decorated double door. She opened it, and we stepped into a large room. The ceiling was two-storey high, and it was very spacious. There was a king-sized bed to my right with baldachin over the bed. There was a sofa at the foot of the bed, and two, night tables on the two sides of the bed. Large windows covered the wall opposite, with ivory curtains. There was a wall right next to as we stepped in, then another door further towards the windows.

“Wardrobe.” Elynn walked over to the door and opened it. I stepped in to see a wide range of clothes. There were gowns or just unique occasion dresses, there were casual dresses too. A few of them on mannequins, the others hung up in the built-in wardrobes. I saw regular clothes, too, trousers and jumpers. There was a chest of drawers in the back and a large mirror above it. The whole place looked shining and golden from the lighting.

“Bathroom.” She pointed to the other door, then opened it. It was just as large as the wardrobe, with a large-sized bathtub in the middle. It was black and light blue, the blue the dominant colour, but it didn’t look a bit depressing from the dark colour. One would think black is not a colour for the bathroom, but how this was arranged and decorated, it wasn’t.

“This is amazing!” I said in awe, turning around.

“You like it?” She asked, her eyes shining.

“Yes. I love it. It’s ... more than I expected. It’s huge.” I looked around.

She smiled, then looked at Marion. “Please see to it that she gets everything she wants and that she is ready for dinner.” The warmness in her voice when she spoke to me disappeared when she talked to her.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Marion kept her head down when she spoke and stayed at the door.

“I am sure you are tired, I let you get rest now. Anything you want, it is yours.” She smiled, then headed for the door and left.

I walked over to the bed and brushed my hand over it. It felt so soft under my fingers. “Marion, you don’t have to remain at the door, you know.” I turned around.

She looked up at me and walked over. “I know. Just ... Ah, never mind.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you two. You guys saved my life,” I said, and she smiled.

“Would you like me to start a bath?” She asked.

I tiled my head. “You don’t have to. I can do it too.”

“I’ve been assigned to help you any way I can,” she said.

I sighed. “I can’t change your mind, can I?” I asked, not particularly wanting an answer. “All right fine. I’ll probably need help with ... undressing,” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed.


	14. Chapter 14

After having a not so painless bath, and after Marion helped me dress up again into more comfortable clothing, she left me after I dismissed her. I don’t need a maid or servant or whatever term they used for that kind of people here. Especially not her when she is a friend of Marell’s.

Marell. I wonder what happened to him. I hope Othel ... dad wasn’t too harsh on him.

I stood up to go out of my room, and when I opened my doors, I found that a man, a guard, was standing by my door, turning his head towards me when he saw me exit my rooms. I nodded towards him and walked past him, but I heard the tinkling sound of something on his uniform when he started to follow me from a distance.

I stopped and turned around, questioningly raising my brow.

“Their Majesties asked for someone to be assigned for you,” he said, clearly understanding the question in my eyes. When he said that I had a guard assigned, to follow me around ... to lead me, my eyes widened. It reminded me of that place. I know this was nowhere near it, but ... I still felt frightened.

I shook my head. “No. Thank you, but I don’t need someone to lead me around.” I tried so hard not to sound shaky and stepped back with my hands, ready to defend myself from anything. “Just ... stay there. I’m only going to see O– His Majesty.”

“But he gave the guards speci–”

“Please. I’ll be five minutes. I’ll tell him what I said, just please.” I backed away, not waiting for him to answer. But when I didn’t hear or see him follow me now, I slowed down and sighed heavily. I didn’t know why I panicked so much because Marell was my guard for most of the time I was there, and he did nothing but try to protect me.

And I rebelled against _him_. Him, who was trying to keep me out of trouble, and now probably paid the consequences ...

When I reached the corridor, Othel’s study was at, I approached the door. There was a guard next to it, only looking at me shortly then looking away. I debated whether I should knock, and when I lifted my hand to do so, someone just turned onto the corridor. It was him.

“Is everything all right, my dear?” He asked, looking genuinely concerned as he asked.

I nodded, trying to smile. “Yes. Uhm. I was just ... I was looking for Marell.” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“Why?” He asked, face neutral.

 _What ‘why’?_ “Because I need to talk to him,” I said.

He was silent for a second, then he sighed. “Two corridors down, the last door. And why do you not have your guard with you? I specifically told them to– I’m going to–”

“No, wait! Don’t do anything.” I held my hands up.

“Why? They disobeyed an order.”

“No, I did. Sort of. You see, I told him not to follow me here.” I looked down.

“Why?” He asked again, this time with curiosity and confusion in his voice.

“Because ...” I looked up. “Because it reminds me of being there. I didn’t always have Marell as my guard, and–”

He cut me off, nodding and saying. “All right. I do understand, believe me; but it would put our minds to ease if you’d let _us_ protect you, too.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “Just for a while, is that fine? Then we will see, all right?” I nodded.

He took his hands off my shoulder, but he didn’t just yet let me go, his eyes were locked to mine. His face softened, then slowly, he drew me to him, into a hug. “If you’d know how I missed you all these years. How many times I wanted to send men for you, to get you to bring you home,” he said quietly. The guards behind him shifting their weight, looking away from us, giving us some ‘space’, but still being alert at the same time.

Then he let me go and smiled softly. I nodded, and smiled too, then went past him to look for Marell.

I knocked on the door I thought was his and waited for a few seconds. When I wanted to leave because I thought no one was here, the door opened, and Marell’s head appeared.

I turned back. “Do you have a minute?” I asked.

“Sure. Yes. Just give me a second,” he said and disappeared, but left the door open. I debated whether to step in or don’t. But then he appeared again, and opened the door wider, inviting me in.

His room was smaller, a lot smaller than mine, but I guess that’s understandable. Not everyone had the Princess Suit ... He closed the door, and remained there, seemingly not knowing what to do. So, I turned towards him, looking away from his undecorated little room, and to him. I noticed his hair was wet, it was dripping onto his shirt. I tried not to wander off in my thoughts about what he might have done or how he might have looked just moments ago ... and shook my head.

“I just wanted to know what happened.”

“What happened?” He asked back.

“You’re not in trouble, are you? Because then I can convince them that you didn’t do anything an–”

“Slow down!” He held his hands in front of him and walked over to me. “Yes, I did get a little scolding, and shouting, and looks from your father, but he ... let me go.”

“He let you go? What do you mean?” I asked, alert.

He scoffed, smiling. “He did punish me, I am no longer Captain–”

“You were a captain?” I asked. Apparently, among the guards, I got that.

“Yes, I was.” He agreed. “But I am no longer. That was the consequence of my actions.”

“But you have done nothing.”

“Exactly,” he said.

I sighed, frustrated. “You know what I meant.”

“Don’t worry about me, Elinor.” He put a hand on my shoulder.

“So ... then what happens to you now?” I asked.

He sighed and sat down on his bed. “He only stripped me of my title as captain, but he said I can keep my post in the guard. I’ll train and ... guard and protect you if he decides that I will be worthy of that post.” He explained. “Meanwhile, you will learn how to be a princess. You’ll learn etiquette and history and languages, and how to control your for-now-still-dormant magic.”

I looked away, annoyed. “I don’t want to be a princess. Besides, don’t you think I’m a bit too old for that dream now?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Well, it’s not a dream. It’s the would-have-been life of yours,” he said. “You are safer here, and you are old enough now to understand the weight of who you are.”

There was so much I wanted to say right now. But half of them were inappropriate, and the other half was just silly. So, I remained silent and just nodded. Then I remembered and changed the subject. “What about the others? Will you rescue them?” I asked seriously.

“I did mention it to the king, he said he’ll think about it.”

“Think about it?” _No._

I stormed towards the door, and out of the room, Marell right behind me. I went right back to his study and stopped before the door before I stormed in. The reason was simple, but also because I was above, I felt above the ‘storming into a room’ kind of attitude. But I stopped because I heard him shouting through the closed doors. I looked to Marell, who looked to the guard.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

The guard glanced around before speaking. “His Majesty is frustrated about something the advisors suggested. I didn’t hear what it was, just that His Majesty responded angrily.” He explained.

I nodded, and said thanks, and headed for my room. “I guess I’ll come back later.” Marell nodded. At that moment, something came over me and made me hug him tightly. He was surprised, but he held me. I closed my eyes, trying to block the tears from coming out because I was on the edge of crying.

“Shhh. What’s wrong?” He asked, stroking my back carefully.

“I don’t know,” I said it to his chest. “I’m not sure I can do it. I don’t have my dad with me, my new friends are likely to be dead by now because of the stunt I pulled ... and on top of it, I have two parents who I don’t know, and they don’t know me ... and there is you.”

“Shhh. I told you,” he drew me in closer, “you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. And your friends and everyone from there will be rescued and brought home. I promise.” I sniffed and let him go. “And your parents ... they are nice people. All you need to do is find something you all like, and bond over it. You could start with your mother. I heard she likes horses and spends all her free time with her horse, Pegasus, in the stables. You might want to have a visit to it.” He smiled, and I wiped my eyes.

I nodded. “All right.” I looked around because a breeze came from somewhere. I was walking so fast that we ended up near my room. I walked towards where I felt the breeze coming from and noted that my room’s doors were open.

I tilted my head. “Did I not close that?”

Marell stepped before me and closer to the door. “Even if you didn’t, they should have.” He kept close to the door, and pushed it in, stepping in and looking around. I just noticed then that my guard is not here. I told him to stay, did he just go? Can he do that?

“Marell?” I asked, alerted, and followed him into my room.

“Nothing,” he said, coming from the bathroom.

“My guard isn’t here, but I told him to stay. Could he have just gone to ... do whatever? On a break? Can he do that?” I was getting worried. Not for my guard, but why he wasn’t here, guarding, and why my doors were open. Not that I had anything of value, but ...

“I wouldn’t worry. No one can break in, and even if they’d try, they wouldn’t do it in broad daylight.” He motioned towards the windows. “I think he just went to look for you. He’ll be back.”

I nodded. “I think I’ll go to the stables. She might still be there.”

“I’ll walk you there,” he said.

While we were walking towards the stables, we passed several servants or group of servants or guards on patrol. They all bowed their heads or curtsied shortly, then went back to their work. Some murmured my name, probably not believing their eyes or something. I didn’t know, but after a while, I started feeling uncomfortable.

“Well, you better get used to it,” Marell whispered, reading my face.

Before we reached the stables, three guards walked towards us, smiling widely.

“Marell!” The middle one shouted and patted him on the shoulder.

“I heard rumours about you.” The one on the left punched him playfully in the shoulder.

“I bet none of them is true,” he answered.

“Oh, how terrible of us, I’m sorry Princess,” the middle one looked at me, then they all bowed their heads. I glanced uncomfortably to Marell.

“Friend of yours?” I nudged Marell.

“We were in the same training group,” the one on the right, said, “then he got promoted.”

“Then he got dragged away to the middle of nowhere, on a secret mission,” the one on the left said, nudging the one in the middle, all laughing.

“A secret mission, huh?” I asked.

“Yeah. Rescuing someone, or what. But that was months ago.” He looked at him.

“I bet he failed.” The one on the right joked.

“Why would he?” I asked.

They all looked at me. “No, no, Princess. That was just a joke. Of course, he is capable of anything His Majesty asks him to do,” the middle one said.

“But can’t you tell us about it?” The one on the left asked.

Marell put his hands into his pocket, seemingly debating whether to tell them or not. “Well, if he is not going to, I can,” I said.

I glanced at him for ... permission? They did say it was a ‘secret mission’. I didn’t know then if I could talk about it or not.

“With all due respect, Princess, but how would you know about it? It’s not like you were here to hear about the mission in the first place,” the middle one said.

“No. That’s true, I wasn’t _here_ , but I was _there_ ,” I said.

The middle one shifted his weight. “‘There’?”

“Yeah. ‘In the middle of nowhere’, where your colleague was sent,” I said utterly calmly.

“Y–” He scoffed in disbelief and embarrassment. “You were the– I only heard rumours about that place, but that y–” He couldn’t finish, and turned his head away from me in embarrassment. Marell nudged me, and I noticed a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth.

“We– we’re sorry, Your Highness,” the left one said, and bowing his head, he led the other two away.

“You do realise that by dinner, everyone in the castle would know that?” He asked, smiling.

“Uhm ...” I paused. “But what’s that smile on your face anyway?”

“Nothing.” He looked away. We finally arrived at the stables. “I’ll leave you to it then if that’s fine.” I nodded and walked in.

It was spacious and smelly. But as he said, my mother indeed was at one of the boxes, stroking a white horse, Pegasus. She looked at me and smiled.

“Isn’t he gorgeous?” She asked.

“He is.” I agreed and held my hand out to stroke him, too.

“He was a gift from your father on my birthday just after you were born.” She explained. “Do you ride?” She looked at me.

“There wasn’t much of a chance for me to ride where I lived.”

“I see.” She looked back to the horse.

“But I would like to try,” I added.

“You would?” She asked, her eyes widening and glowing up.

“Yeah. Better late than never.” I chuckled.

“Choose a horse,” she said, extending her arms.

I just looked at her, not believing my ears. “Wha– ‘Choose one’?”

“Yes.” She nodded, smiling. “Mostly we keep the horses for breeding, then we sell them. We always keep a few for the guards, but they are kept elsewhere. These horses,” she looked around, “are all mine. You can choose one. Any. Well, except for Pegasus, of course.” She smiled and stroked him.

Surprised and not quite able to process this, I walked along the stalls. I didn’t know how to choose what to look at. They were all beautiful and strong-looking. But when I turned to look at the horses on the other side of the aisle, I heard neighing. I looked over to the source of the noise. A man was just bringing in a horse. It was two-toned, light and dark grey mixing up. It kept its head high, proud, I almost thought, but then it yanked on the leash the man was leading the horse on, and it broke free. It was throwing its head but didn’t run. The man was still standing where he was, leaning on his knees, trying to catch his breath after the little fight with the horse.

When he stepped to the horse to take it into the stall, before he could reach it, the horse just casually walked away. It stopped just in front of the stall opposite Pegasus’s.

“Hey,” I said, stepping towards it. I didn’t know what I was doing, I guess I was trying to grab hold of the leash to give it back to the man. “Hey, you.” I held my hand out towards it to sniff my hand. When it let me close, I reached for the leash with one hand, and with the other, I stroked his neck. “Good,” I said quietly.

“Storm,” my mother said. “He always does that. Never wants to come back to the stables, it’s always a fight,” she said, the man nodding in agreement.

I looked back to the horse and stroked his head. “Tough one, are you?” He lifted his head high as if saying yes. I chuckled. I looked over to Elynn. “Can I have him?” I asked, but not hoping for a ‘yes’ too much.

“You can.” She smiled.

“He is trained and ridable, he obeys every order; the only problem with him is when we want to put him in a stall,” the man added.

“No wonder. This place makes _me_ feel depressed and wants to get out. Or not even wanting to come in,” I said, looking into the horse’s eyes, not the man’s. “But you’re going to be a good boy from now on, aren’t you?” I asked Storm but then turned to the man. “Why don’t you keep him outside then?”

“We tried, but he always messes himself up. He turns himself black by the morning,” the man said.

“What if you keep him close to the exit? That way, he might not feel so ... trapped.” I asked quietly.

“Worth a try.” The man nodded.

“All right. Let them bond a bit, I’ll take care of Storm later,” Elynn said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the man said, and left. She went to get something and returned with a box. From inside, she gave me a brush and nodded towards Storm. “Brush him. No better bonding than grooming your horse.” She smiled.

She showed me how to do it, and when I got the hang of it, she stepped away.

I was almost finished when she asked, “What’s wrong?”

I looked at her, pretending not to know what she means. I shook my head. “Nothing. Why?”

She put down her brush and walked next to me. She put a hand on my back, carefully. “I can feel something is wrong. You don’t have to hide it from me. I will listen.”

I sighed and stopped brushing Storm. “I just feel like an outsider. I know it’s only my first day, but ...”

“This will change. I know it. Just give it a chance.” She hugged me. “All right. How about we put these horses back into their stalls, and go and have dinner?”

“Sounds good.”

Before dinner, I was instructed to change my clothes. We were about to part, but then I remembered something.

“Do you remember that young woman who was with us when I came?”

“Yes. Marion. She is a healer if I remember correctly,” Elynn said.

“Yes. She is a _healer_. And I feel ... I don’t think ...” I couldn’t get the words out.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“She is a _healer_. She needs to have a healer job,” I said.

“I see where you are going with this,” she said.

“You do?”

“Yes. And I will see to it. Starting from tomorrow,” she said, and I felt that her decision was final so, I just nodded. We parted ways, and I walked back to my room. My guard was there now, and as I passed him, he nodded/bowed, then returned to his post.

I changed clothes with the help of Marion for the last time, hopefully. I didn’t want to see her being a servant instead of a healer. And I told her what I asked from my mother.

“You did?” She dropped a shirt as she was putting them back on the shelf after we had a minor argument about what I should wear. She wanted me to wear something pretty, but I wanted to wear something comfortable.

I nodded. “She said she will see to it tomorrow. You are not a ... maid. You are a healer. I don’t want to be the one you’ll blame later when you are not working as one.”

“I would never. But thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

***

She escorted me to the dining hall, where Othel and Elynn were already at the table, then went away. I walked up to the table and sat down silently, noting my mother’s awe about my dress. I was wearing a pale-gold, A-lined dress that reached to my ankles. It had a white belt, well just a material reaching around my waist, ending in a knot on my back. The neckline was square, and it had lace three-quarter sleeves.

My father smiled softly, too, as he saw me. I saw him reach for my mother’s hands and smile at her too.

It was the most delightful dinner I ever had. Well, not true, because almost all my meals with dad was lovely too. I did wish he was here, but I accepted that he wasn’t, and was grateful that I could spend time with my parents.


End file.
